Bury Castle, Greater Manchester

Bury Castle was an early medieval moated manor house in Bury, Lancashire . Its remains are listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The manor house was built by Sir Thomas Pilkington - lord of the manors of Bury and Pilkington, and an influential member of Lancashire's gentry - in 1469. He was given permission by Edward IV to: It is situated on the top of a slope overlooking the River Irwell in a strong defensive position. Excavations have revealed there were six main construction phases on the site. The first phase was between 1359 and 1400 and produced a house platform surrounded by a moat. The building was razed to the ground on the orders of Henry VII after Sir Thomas Pilkington supported the House of York in the Wars of the Roses, particularly the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. On top of this, all of Sir Thomas' lands were confiscated.In 1540, antiquary John Leland described Bury Castle as "a ruin of a castle by the Parish Church in the town". In 1753, Thomas Percival drew plans of the visible foundations of the walls of Bury Castle, measuring by. The ruins were looted to provide building material for the town of Bury. In 1865, further foundations were discovered, this time of a keep or defensive tower by with walls thick.