Bury Castle

About

Bury Castle was an early medieval moated manor house in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, its remains are listed as a scheduled monument. The manor house was built in 1469 by Sir Thomas Pilkington – lord of the manors of Bury and Pilkington, and an influential member of the Lancashire gentry.

He was granted permission by Edward IV to: "'build to make and to construct walls and turrets with stone, lime and sand around and below his manor house in Bury in the County of Lancaster, and to shut in the manor house with such manner of walls and turrets; also to embattle, crenellate and machicolate those towers." It is situated at the top of a slope overlooking the River Irwell, in a strong defensive position. Excavations have revealed six main construction phases on the site. The first phase, dated between 1359 and 1400, produced a house platform surrounded by a moat.

The building was razed to the ground (slighted) on the orders of Henry VII after Sir Thomas supported the House of York in the Wars of the Roses, particularly the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. In addition, all of Sir Thomas' lands were confiscated. In 1540 the antiquary John Leland described Bury...