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Beeston Castle

The striking ruins of this 13th century castle stand on a 500 foot high cliff of red sandstone, providing excellent views of the surrounding countryside. The site was first used as a fortress in the Bronze Age, and traces remain of that early hill fort. The castle was begun in 1226 by Ranulf, Earl of Chester (1170-1232), in a quite peculiar (for England) Saracen style. Ranulf was heavily influenced by the defenses he encountered in Syria during his time on Crusade. In particular the castle bears heavy resemblance to the fortress at Sahyoun.

Ranulf died in 1232, long before the construction of Beeston was complete. His son John inheirited Beeston, but John, too, died soon after, and the castle passed to the crown. Henry III used Beeston as a garrison and prison during his wars in Wales. A century later Edward II strengthened the defenses.

The castle is surrounded by two sets of perimiter defensive walls, and the inner walll is pierced by a very imposing gateway. In the Civil War Beeston was a royalist stronghold, and it held out against a 12-month Parliamentary siege until starvation forced the garrison to concede defeat. In 1646 the defenses of Beeston were intentionally demolished by Parliamentary order.

BURIED TREASURE AT BEESTON?
Persistent legend tells that a vast treasure was hidden at Beeston by Richard II. The story goes that Richard chose Beeston to hide his personal fortune of “100,000 marks in gold coin and 100,000 marks in other precious objects” before he went on a trip to Ireland in 1399. On his return he was captured and eventually killed by Henry Bolinbroke, Duke of Lancaster (later Henry IV). Richard never had a chance to recover his treasure.

One story tells that the gold was hidden in passages running off the 370 foot deep castle well in the inner bailey. Attempts to probe the well using sophisticated electronic measuring devices revealed at least 3 passages, but no treasure, though investigators conjectured that a fourth passage remains to be investigated.

A special exhibit, "The Castle of the Rock", traces the history of the Beeston fortress.

Location map for Beeston

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