Beeston Castle
Cheshire, England (4 castles)
Stone / Cliff-top
Not complete but much survives
Only open at certain times
The view from the castle at the top of the hill is worth the climb. But take your time its a long way up.
The castle became the property of the Crown and improvements were made to its defences. In 1399 Richard II is supposed to have hidden treasure somewhere within Beeston Castle before being captured by the future Henry IV. Some treasure was discovered and handed over to Henry but some believe that there is more treasure to be found and the well is suspected to be the most likely location.
During the English Civil war the castle was commanded by a group of Parliamentarians who believed the castle could not be captured. But several skilled Royalist managed to scale the sheer cliffs on the northern side and took the castle by surprise. The Royalists held the castle until the end of the war at which point the Parliamentarians took control of it and ordered that it should be destroyed, and it has remained in a ruined state ever since.
Location
See Also
People
Related Information
Related Maps
Explore the White Tower
Explore four floors of the keep at the Tower of London.
More Details >>
Medieval Town - Early Access
Explore the medieval town.
TimeRef Medieval Shield Designer
Design you own Medieval Shield.
Shield Designer >>
Medieval Village - Early Access
Explore the medieval village.
Medieval Abbey - Early Access
Explore the medieval abbey.
Medieval Theatre - Early Access
Explore the medieval theatre.
Timeline
1225
...
Returning from a spell crusading in the Holy Land, Ranulf, the fifth Earl of Cheshire started the construction of the castle at Beeston.
1237
With the death of the last male heir of the Earldom of Cheshire, the earldom and castle at Beeston are claimed by King Henry III. The castle was too important not to be in the hands of the crown.
1264
During this year forces belonging to Simon de Montfort occupied and controlled the important Beeston Castle. [1]
1399
In this year Beeson Castle, which had belonged to Richard II, was handed over to Henry IV. In the castle a hoard of Richard's treasure was found.
1644
A Royalist army controlled Beeston Castle during 1644 and held out against a siege by a Parliamentarian army. [1]
1645
November
The siege at Beeson Castle came to an end when the commander of the Royalists led his men out. The castle was deliberately damaged in 1644 so that it could not be used again. [1]
TimeRef Shield Designer
Use this medieval shield designer to create your coat of arms. Click the image below to start your design.
3D Virtual Reconstructions
Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past. Built using the popular game development tool Unity 3D, these reconstructions will run in the most of the popular web browsers on your desktop or laptop computer.
Learn More
Medieval people
Uncover the lives of the hundreds of kings, queens, lords, ladies, barons, earls, archbishops and rebels who made the medieval people an exciting period of history to live through.
Page Navigation
Selection of references used:
Explore all four floors of the White Tower at the Tower of London using the Unity 3d game engine.
Instructions
Medieval Heraldry
Learn about medieval shield design.
Details
Design your own medieval Coat of Arms.
Design your shield
Adventure Game - Early Access
Early Access to the TimeRef card-based Adventure Game.