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Devine · Joined: 13 Mar 2006 Posts: 4 Location: England

Hello, to everyone at Castles. .org,
As a medieval history teacher much of my work involves developing units of study for my students, and as such I am currently planning a research project to establish the distribution and history of Norman castles in my home county of Lancashire. In the years immediately following the conquest, the Normans constructed vast numbers of motte and bailey castles in the dangerous border regions of northern Lancashire. Many of these castles seem to date back directly to the time of the conquest, to protect the north western frontier against Scottish invasion, while many others, that were constructed in the years that followed, bear testament to the ongoing need to secure a permanent military border in this distant outpost of Norman rule. If anyone has any information about any of these sites, or, in particular, if anyone has visited any of them, then I would be most grateful to hear!

Devine · Joined: 13 Mar 2006 Posts: 4 Location: England

Hi,
Following my initial post describing my interest in the castles of Lancashire, I am now planning a number of visits to view the remaining castles that I have missed on previous trips. The first of these early Norman castles is located at Penwortham, near Preston. Established before 1086 (Penwortham is one of the few castles mentioned in the Doomsday survey), this Norman fortification remains now only as an earthwork hill in the churchyard of St. Mary's at Penwortham. Aside from recent archaeological research results, there seems to be little existing documentation to be found about this fascinating site. Therefore, if anyone knows of any information that would support my own research, I would be extremely interested in discussing it, and any interesting facts, thoughts, or indeed, opinions about this, or any other castle site in the NW of England, would be most welcome and useful. Cheers!

Devine · Joined: 13 Mar 2006 Posts: 4 Location: England

Hi, everone.
Further to my requests for information about castles in Lancashire, I am now searching for any new historical background about Clitheroe castle, which lies 18 miles north of Preston. Although I have found some general information about this castle, I would very much like to expand and develop my research. Therefore, if anyone has any relevant information, please let me know. Thanks.