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Issue 137 – November 2017
KEEPERS OF THE CASTLE INSIDE By Stephen Guy, West Derby Society
LIVERPOOL Castle was built after the town was granted its charter by King John in 1207 and dominated the port for around 500 years. West Derby Castle was then abandoned and fell into ruin and replaced by a manor house. The site, known as Castle Field, can still be seen in Meadow Lane. Liverpool Castle stood next to the Pool – the creek which gave the port its name – on the site occupied by the Victoria Monument. Records show that in 1215 the new castle was provisioned for a siege at a time when the barons were rising against King John. This was the year the unpopular monarch signed Magna Carta recognising the rights and privileges of nobles, church and freemen. However, it would be 400 years before Liverpool Castle saw military action. The walls of the stronghold were damaged during the Civil War when Royalists besieged the town. By 1646 it was in need of
serious repairs. In 1659, at the time of the Commonwealth when the country was a republic, Parliament ordered the destruction of the castle. The gatehouse was pulled down and the walls reduced in height, leaving the rest of the building standing. Demolition stopped when the monarchy was restored in 1660. A few years later several people were living in houses among the ruins and a Captain Fazakerley built a mill inside. The Molyneux family, later Earls of Sefton, were appointed hereditary constables of Liverpool Castle in 1446. They were responsible for law and order and were also hereditary stewards of West Derby Courthouse. A footpath led from the castle through an orchard down to the Pool which was then crossed by a ferry or footbridge to the Great Heath, common land outside the town. The footpath became Lord Molyneux Street, later Lord Street. Lord refers to the hereditary title Viscount, which the eldest son became following the creation of the 1st Viscount
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Molyneux in 1628.The viscounts were still governors of the castle but by this time it was unfit for occupation by men of their rank. As a result, Lord Molyneux’s House (pictured) was built near the top of Lord Street on the north side.
It stood alongside the castle until the remaining ruins were cleared in 1726. n Join the West Derby Society at its next meeting 7.30pm on Wednesday 15 November at Lowlands, 13 Haymans Green, Liverpool L12 7JG.
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and much, much more