Stockport Town Wall

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Great Underbank

In the civil parish of Stockport.
In the historic county of Cheshire (Modern Authority of Stockport, 1974 county of Greater Manchester).

Remains of Mediaeval walling interpreted as the remains of Stockport town wall. Excavations and research in the 1970's suggests that the walls are probably revetted bank from the bailey associated with Stockport Castle (qv). Documentary evidence supports the existence of the walls. Dent suggests the walls are of the castle and the town lay outside this area - I do not find this suggestion particularly persuasive. Dent seems to make this stronghold of a minor lord unduly large in my opinion.

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Nothing visible remains.

This site is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 210800)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ89679053

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; 76872

Books

Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p131, 269
Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Lancashire and Cheshire (Malvern) p21
Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p70, 250
Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71
Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p209

Journal Articles

Dent, J.S., 1977, ‘Recent excavations on the site of Stockport Castle' Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society Vol79 p1-13
Kay T., 1896, 'Remains of the Town Wall of Stockport' Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society Vol14 pp55-61

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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