A lost castle in Liverpool that once stood in the city centre hundreds of years ago can now be found more than 30 miles away. Once located at the bottom of Castle Street, in the area that is now home to Derby Square and Liverpool Crown Court, Liverpool Castle boasted a hall, chapel, brewhouse, a bakehouse and a moat running around the outside.
Believed to have been constructed around 1235, although some records suggest it could have been as early as 1208, it is said to have offered the highest point in the city overlooking “the Pool” and have been built atop a plateau to protect a new port on Lord Street, the Liverpool ECHO previously reported.
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In May 1643 ,the Parliamentarians took the city and the crucial supply route to Ireland and the following year in 1644, Royalists gained control of the fortress. Once the Royalists were defeated, Parliament are said to have ordered the demolition of the castle.
Its final ruins were removed in 1726 and the bricks were said to be recycled for other buildings. The site was then occupied by a church, which was then knocked down in the late 19th century and replaced with the Victoria Monument.
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But its legacy lives on elsewhere – outside of our region. Today, if you want to see Liverpool Castle, a scale replica can be found in Lever Park in Rivington, near Chorley. Soap tycoon William Lever, who established Lever Brothers (later part of Unilever) and was the founder of Port Sunlight, commissioned the building of the replica, but it was never finished.
These images, courtesy of our sister titles The Manchester Evening News and Lancs Live, offer a glimpse into what the site looks like nowadays. You can see more in our gallery below.
Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
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