30 May 2026 Beeston Castle
Today was a beautiful Saturday in England, and a great day to visit Beeston Castle. Located 10 miles South of the City of Chester, this hill upon where the castle rests has been occupied all the way back to the Iron Age, sometime around 3000B.C.
This rock outcropping, or as they say in England, Crag, was a result of the Ice Age, when glaciers formed the 350 foot Hill. As we get to the Iron Ages, much of the ground around the hill was swampy, so the locals built their village on higher ground. Archaeological digs have revealed post holes and foundations for round huts from about where the outer bailey defenses start, up to just before where the Inner bailey walls begin.
After the Iron Age tribes had left, the Romans took over, and built a road not too far from here. There was plenty of copper ore in the region, as well as salt to be mined which was important for life back then. The locals would trade copper ore to Cornwall, in exchange for tin ore. The reason for this is that they made Bronzed tools and weapons at this site, and bronze is composed of 90% copper, and 10% tin.
This gatehouse welcomes visitors into the gift shop. It was built mid 17th Century, but looks pretty cool. Once I got there, I was fortunate enough to join a tour given by a volunteer who has worked here at the site for years. He was a wealth of knowledge, not only about the castle, but also about how it all tied into the history of the castle and local area. In the picture below, you can see us walking up to the ruined outer bailey gatehouse. Dave, our guide, is the one in the maroon colored shirt.
It was a pretty healthy climb to get from the visitors center to the top of the hill where the inner bailey is situated. I am glad he made several stops along the way to explain the history of the place, as well as discoveries they have found through excavations and digs. Dave also volunteers to keep brush and plants back from the walls, and pick up trash that rude people through all over the place.
Here Dave explains more about the castle walls protecting the outer bailey. One unique thing about this castle is that it was never a manor house or had a central keep inside the inner bailey. It was strictly a defensive castle used for protecting soldiers during the many English Civil Wars and the conquest of Wales. In fact, it was so strong defensively, that no attack ever came to it from the Welsh.
Once inside the outer bailey, it was still quite the climb to get to the top and the inner bailey. They also had a 30 foot deep ditch, and bridge to the inner bailey gatehouse, and a drawbridge. The back side of the inner bailey was protected by steep cliffs overlooking the River.
The views from the top of the hill were pretty spectacular. It was worth the climb to see it all, especially on a great day like today.
Shortly after William the First arrived from Normandy, he instructed the new Earl of Chester, Ranulf de Blondeville, to build this castle. It pretty much stayed under the control of the Earls of Chester except for a few brief periods of time when the Royal Crown was given it for safekeeping.
Humphrey de Bohun was a Marcher Lord and the 6th Earl of Hereford, 7th Earl of Essex. His son, Humprhey de Bohun, was born in 1226, and unfortunately was mortally wounded at the Battle of Evesham when he was supporting Simon de Montfort's Army. His father, Humphrey, the 6th Earl of Hereford, was on the side of Henry III and Prince Edward (Longshanks), eventual King Edward I of England. After being captured with horrific injuries, Humphrey the Father was allowed to bring Humphrey the son back to Beeston Castle, where he died later in 1265. Humphrey is the only noble known of to have died at Beeston Castle, and that's the tie in to my ancestry. I'm related to both of the Humphreys.
. This is a picture of the inner bailey gatehouse from atop the hill.
