Here is a short reading list of books worth consulting on the history of Beeston Castle, before embarking on research based on the more specialist written, visual, published and unpublished resources listed below.
Barratt, J 1995. ‘Civil War Stronghold: Beeston Castle at War 1642–5', Birkenhead: Caraclole
Colvin, H M 1963. 'The History of the King’s Works Volume 2: The Middle Ages, 559–60', London: HMSO
Ellis, P 1993. 'Beeston Castle, Cheshire. Excavations by Laurence Keen & Peter Hough, 1968–85', English Heritage Archaeological Report No. 23, London
Liddiard, R and McGuicken, R 2007. 'Beeston Castle, Cheshire', London: English Heritage
Ranulf of Chester and the Building of Beeston Castle (1220–37)
Two chronicle sources record the construction of Beeston Castle. The Annals of Chester exist in published form: 'Annales Cestrienses: or Chronicle of the Abbey of St Werberg, at Chester', Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 14. The Latin text and a translation can also be accessed via British History Online.
The text of Ranulf Higden’s 'Polychronicon' is published by Public Record Office:
Lumby, J R (ed) 1882. 'Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden Monachi Cestrensis', Rolls Series, 41, volume 8, London
A Royal Castle (1237–1602)
Records of the building works at the castle during the reign of Henry III are held at The National Archives (TNA), but are calendared in the volumes published by the Public Record Office. The majority of references are to be found in the Calendar of Close Rolls (C 54), Calendar of Liberate Rolls (C 62) and the Calendar of Patent Rolls (C 66). Digital access to the printed calendars can be found through British History Online:
The Pipe Rolls are also held at TNA (E 372) but entries for Cheshire are published in:
Stewart-Brown, R (ed) 1938. 'Cheshire in the Pipe Rolls', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 92.
Primary source material for the building works at the castle in the 14th century are enrolled in TNA SC6/771–23 and been published as:
Stewart-Brown, R (ed) 1910. 'Accounts of the Chamberlains and other officers of the county of Cheshire, 1301–1360', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 59:
and TNA SC 6/772/3 and SC 6/772/4 as:
Booth P H W and Carr, A D. 'Account of Master John de Burham the younger, Chamberlain of Chester, of the revenues of the counties of Chester and Flint, Michaelmas 1361 to Michaelmas 1362', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 125.
Material relevant to medieval Peckforton is to be found in Black Prince’s Register (held at TNA and is classed in ‘Treasury of the Receipt, Miscellaneous Books’, E 36/144) and printed in Dawes M C B (ed) 1930. 'Register of the Black Prince', 4 volumes, London: HMSO.
Civil War
For the Civil War period the majority of information about the castle is to be found in the letter books of the Parliamentarian commander, Sir William Brereton (British Library, London, Additional MSS 11331–3). These are published in two volumes: Dore, R N 1984. 'The Letter Books of Sir William Brereton, I', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 123; Dore, R N 1990. 'The Letter Books of Sir William Brereton, II', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 128.
Various documents relating to Beeston are also published in Hall, J (ed) 1889. 'Memorials of the Civil War in Cheshire', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 19.
An account of the fighting can also be found in 'Thomas Lancaster, more Exact Relation of Chester’s Enlargement', which is part of the Thomason Tracts held in the British Library (Fortescue, G K 1908. 'Catalogue of the Pamphlets, Books, Newspapers, and Manuscripts Relating to the Civil War, the Commonwealth, and Restoration, Collected by George Thomason, 1640–61', volume 1, 419, London: British Museum) and available through Early English Books online.
Records relating to the history of the castle during the period of Mostyn ownership are contained within the Mostyn Manuscripts at the University of Wales Bangor archives:
Beeston as a Picturesque Ruin
Papers relating to the Tollemache ownership are held privately at Helmingham Hall, Suffolk
1727 'The South View of Beeston Castle Near Chester', by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck, 'Views of Ruins of Castles & Abbeys in England', Part 2, 1726–39
c 1747 'A View of Beeston Castle', by J Boydell (engraving based upon 17th-century drawing), British Library, London, Maps K Top.9.17.a
c 1760 'View of the Upper Ward at Beeston Castle, River Gowy in the Distance', by George Barret Senior, Grosvenor Museum, Chester
1809 'The Outer Ward at Beeston', by J M W Turner, Ulster Museum
Pre-1819 'Beeston Castle from Above Tarporley', by Moses Griffith, Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Pre-1819 'Beeston Castle, Church and Trees in Front', by Moses Griffith, Grosvenor Museum, Chester
No date, 'Beeston Castle from a Distance', by John Glover, Grosvenor Museum, Chester
[1846], 'Pencil Drawings, Beeston Castle 17th July 1846', by Thomas Bailey, Grosvenor Museum, Chester
1817, 'Gate of Beeston Castle' in Hanshall, J H 1817. 'The History of the County Palatine of Chester', 116
The Cheshire Record Office holds a series of historic photographs and sketches of the castle:
Bunbury Collection Canon Maurice Hill Ridgway Papers
Scrapbook with photographs c 1950s (D 3277/179)
Photographs of Beeston Castle (D3277/184)
Sketches of Beeston Castle (19th century to 1954) (D6335)
Printed primary sources
Booth, P H W and Carr, A D. 'Account of Master John de Burham the younger, Chamberlain of Chester, of the revenues of the counties of Chester and Flint, Michaelmas 1361 to Michaelmas 1362', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 125
Booth, P H W 1981. 'The Financial Administration of the Lordship and County of Chester 1272–1377', Chetham Society, 3rd series, 28
Christie, R C (ed) 1886. 'Annales Cestrienses: or Chronicle of the Abbey of St Werberg, at Chester', Record Society for Lancashire and Cheshire, 14
Dore, R N 1984. 'The Letter Books of Sir William Brereton, I', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 123
Dore, R N 1990. 'The Letter Books of Sir William Brereton, II', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 128
Hall, J (ed) 1889. 'Memorials of the Civil War in Cheshire', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 19
Lumby, J R (ed) 1882. 'Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden Monachi Cestrensis', Rolls Series, 41, volume 8, London: Public Record Office
Malbon, T 1998. 'Memorials of the Civil War in Cheshire', Record Society for Lancashire and Cheshire, 19
Stewart-Brown, R (ed) 1938. 'Cheshire in the Pipe Rolls', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 92
Stewart-Brown, R (ed) 1910. 'Accounts of the Chamberlains and other officers of the county of Cheshire, 1301–1360', Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 59
Printed secondary sources
Anon, 1937. ‘Exploring Beeston’s Ancient Well’, Cheshire Life, October 1937, 16–17
Anon, 1937. ‘The Passages Explored’, Cheshire Life, November 1937, 7–9
Barber, E and Ditchfield, P H 1910. 'Memorials of Old Cheshire', London: Allen and Sons,
55–7
Barraclough, G 1951. ‘The Earldom and County Palatine of Chester’, Transactions of the Historical Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 103, 23–57
Dore, R N 1965–6. ‘Beeston Castle in the Great Civil War, 1643–46’, Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 75–6, 3–22
Eales, R 1986. ‘Henry III and the end of the Norman Earldom of Chester’, Thirteenth-Century England, 1, 100–12
Eaves, I 1989. ‘On the Remains of a Jack of Plate excavated from Beeston Castle in Cheshire’, Journal of the Arms and Armour Society, 13(2), 81–154
Erdeswicke, S 1717. 'A Survey of Staffordshire … with a description of Beeston Castle in Cheshire', London
Grose, F 1787. 'The Antiquities of England and Wales', vol 1, 27–32, London
Hicklin, J 1845. 'The History of Beeston Castle', Chester: T Catherall
Hough, P R 1978. ‘Excavations at Beeston Castle 1975–77’, Journal of the Cheshire Archaeological Society, 61, 1–28
Hough, P R 1984. ‘Beeston Castle’, Current Archaeology, 8(8), 245–9
Hough, P R 1982. ‘Beeston’, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin, 8, 22–30
Jones, P 1897. 'Incidents and Accidents Round About Beeston Castle', London
Mackenzie, J 1897. 'The Castles of England', vol 2, 163–6, London
Matthews, S 2005. ‘The Cheshire Estates of John Tollemache of Peckforton, 1861–1872’, Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 154, 117–36
McGuicken, R 2006. 'Castle in context? Redefining the significance of Beeston Castle, Cheshire', Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, 81, 65–82
McGuicken, R 2006. 'Castle in context? An analysis of heritage interpretation and presentation at Beeston Castle, Cheshire', Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, 81, 83–91
Morris, R H 1923. ‘The Siege of Chester 1633–1646’, Journal of the Chester and North Wales Architecture, Archaeology and History Society, 25
Neaverson, M C 1947. 'Mediaeval Castles in North Wales: A Study of Sites, Water Supply and Building Stones', London: Hodder and Staughton
Ormerod, G 1882. 'The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester', London
Rigway, M H, and King, D J 1959. ‘Beeston Castle, Cheshire’, Journal of the Chester and North Wales Architecture, Archaeology and History Society, 46, 1–23
Ridgway, M H 1957. ‘An Introduction to the Story of Beeston Castle’, Cheshire Historian, 7, 35–8 (also re-printed as the castle guide book ,1957)
Stow, J 1631. 'Annales, or a General Chronicle of England', London
Thompson, M 1997. ‘Castles’, in D Brewer and J Gibson (eds), 'A Companion to the Gawain-Poet', 119–30, Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer
Tunstall, B 1933. 'The Story of Beeston Castle', Chester: Phillipson & Golder
Webb, W 1656. 'Perambulation of Cheshire' in D King, 'The Vale Royall of England@, London, John Streeter
Weaver, J 1987. 'Beeston Castle', London: English Heritage
VCH 1978. 'The Victoria County History of the County of Cheshire', I, 36–114, London
