Biddulph Lea Forge

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Baileys Wood

In the civil parish of Biddulph.
In the historic county of Staffordshire (Modern Authority of Staffordshire, 1974 county of Staffordshire).

The earthwork and buried remains of a ringwork castle situated within Bailey's Wood to the north of Biddulph. A D shaped earthwork situated in a strong defensive position at the eastern end of a prominent ridge with the ground falling away steeply to the Biddulph Brook on the north, east and south. The castle is thought to have originally belonged to the de Vernon family of Alton. Excavations in 1966 have demonstated that the ringwork was originally built in C12 and timber framed buildings were replaced in stone in C13. Traces of a wooden palisade were visible in the top of the rampart bank. A large quantity of Medieval pottery was found. The castle was abandoned in C16.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ88945948

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 76072

Books

Salter, Mike, 1997, Castles and Moated Mansions of Staffordshire (Malvern) p15

Journal Articles

1984, Moated Sites Research Group report Vol11 p25
Palliser, D.M., 1972, 'Staffordshire Castles: A Provisional List' Staffordshire Archaeology Vol1 p5-8
Bestwick, J.L., 1968, Biddulph Historical Society transactions Vol1 p6-9

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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