Liverpool Castle
Liverpool castle, which occupied a prominent site overlooking the
Mersey and pool of Liverpool, was probably erected under the orders of
William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, between 1232 and 1237. The most
detailed medieval account was made in 1347 which described the castle
as having 'four towers, a hall, chamber, chapel, brewhouse and
bakehouse, with a well therein, a certain orchard and a dovecot'. It
was surrounded by a fosse or a dry moat.
On only two known occasions did the Castle come under attack, once
when a band of rebellious tenants of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, mounted
an unsuccessful assault in 1315, and secondly during the Civil War,
when the Royalists and Parliamentarians vied for control. After the
surrender of Royalists to Parliamentarian forces in 1653, Parliament
instructed the Corporation to remove all Civil war defences throughout
the town, which was followed by a further order in 1659 directing that
the castle should also be removed. This order was never carried out to
completion, only the gatehouse and part of walls being destroyed.
