List of castles in Greater Manchester

There are nine castles in Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. They comprise four motte-and-bailey castles, three fortified manor houses, an enclosure castle, and a possible shell keep. A motte-and-bailey castle is characterised by two elements: the motte is an artificial mound with a wooden stockade and stronghold on top, usually a stone keep or tower, while the bailey is a defended enclosure adjacent to the motte, typically enclosed by a ditch and a bank topped by a timber palisade or stone wall. Motte-and-bailey castles were the most common type of castle in England following the Norman Conquest. A shell keep was a motte with a stone wall rather than a wooden stockade on top, and would not have contained a tower within the walls. Four of Greater Manchester's castles are scheduled monuments: Buckton, Bury, Radcliffe Tower, and Watch Hill. A scheduled monument is a "nationally important" archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The purpose of a castle was not solely militaristic; it was also a stamp of authority over the local population and a symbol of status. Some castles would have served as centres of trade and administration for a manor. The earliest castles in Greater Manchester are Dunham and Watch Hill in Trafford, Ullerwood in Manchester, and Stockport Castle in Stockport. Dunham, Ullerwood, and Stockport castles were first recorded in 1173 as belonging to barons who had rebelled against Henry II, and Watch Hill likely dates from the same period. At least three of these sites were motte-and-bailey castles, probably because of the speed and ease with which they could be erected. Hamon de Massey, who owned the Trafford castles and Ullerwood, and Geoffrey de Constentyn, who owned Stockport Castle, were two of the three rebels from Cheshire; the third was the Earl of Chester, the owner of Chester Castle.
Castles continued to be built in the area, although the last to be constructed in Greater Manchester were two fortified manor houses near Bury, built more for comfort than as utilitarian military structures. Bury Castle and Radcliffe Tower followed the national trend in the 13th century and would most likely have acted as the centres of the manors they served.

List of castles

Castle	Location	Type	Constructed	Scheduled	Notes
Buckton Castle	Buckton Hill, Carrbrook	Enclosure castle	061180s	Yes	The castle overlooks the Tame Valley, a position that may have allowed it to control movement through the valley. It was probably built by the earls of Chester in the 12th century and was first recorded in 1360, by which time it was already ruinous. The structure consisted of a stone curtain wall and is surrounded by a ditch wide and deep; the enclosed area covers about. The remains have been disturbed by 18th-century treasure hunters, and the site is close to Buckton Vale Quarry.
Bury Castle	Bury	Fortified manor house	091469	Yes	The castle is on a slope overlooking the River Irwell in the centre of modern Bury. It is a fortified stone manor house built for Sir Thomas Pilkington. The castle may have replaced an earlier moated house on the site. Excavations have revealed foundation walls measuring by, and a keep or tower by. Bury Castle was razed after the Wars of the Roses, when Thomas Pilkington's lands were confiscated. The remains, once buried, have been excavated for public display and now form the centrepiece of Castle Square in the town centre.
Dunham Castle	Dunham Massey	Motte	02Pre-1173	No	The castle was first recorded in 1173 and belonged to Hamon de Massey. It was still standing in 1323 and fell into disuse sometime between then and 1362. The castle is in diameter and survives to a height of. The site is surrounded by a moat that has been turned into an ornamental lake. It was formerly protected as a scheduled monument, but was delisted as it may be a "natural hummock of glacial sand".
Manchester Castle	Manchester	Fortified manor house	05Pre-1184	No	The castle is thought to have stood on a bluff at the confluence of the rivers Irk and Irwell, near Manchester Cathedral and beneath the present-day Chetham's School of Music, placing it on the edge of medieval Manchester. It may originally have been a ringwork castle before later becoming a manor house. First recorded in 1184, it was held in 1215 by Gresle, the baron of Manchester, and in 1243 by Robert de Furch. Three concentric rings of ditches have been identified around the likely site of the castle.
Radcliffe Tower	Radcliffe	Fortified manor house	091403	Yes	The tower is located on Church Street East and is all that remains of a medieval fortified manor house, built in 1403 and constructed from stone with two towers and a moat. The house was demolished in the 19th century, leaving only this tower, now a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument. It measures by and survives to a height of. The structure was used as a pigsty before being restored.
Rochdale Castle	Rochdale	Motte-and-bailey	01Early post Norman Conquest	No	The castle is defended by a ditch and an earth rampart; the motte measures at the base, and the bailey is by. It lay derelict by the early 13th century. Both the motte and bailey are now obscured by housing developments.
Stockport Castle	Stockport	Motte-and-bailey	03Pre-1173	No	The castle stood on the south side of a valley overlooking a ford across the River Mersey. It was first recorded in 1173 when Geoffrey de Constentyn held it against Henry II during the barons' rebellion. Originally constructed with timber and earthwork defences, it was rebuilt in stone at the start of the 13th century. The castle lay in ruins by 1535 and was demolished in 1775 to make way for a cotton mill. Although no trace of the keep on the motte survives, it was described in 1775 as irregular in shape and measuring. The bailey lies to the south-east of the motte.
Ullerwood Castle	Ringway	Shell keep	04Pre-1173	No	The castle has been confused with Watch Hill Castle in nearby Bowdon; both probably belonged to Hamon de Massey. It was first recorded in 1173 as one of the castles de Massey held against Henry II. The site is now topped by a modern house.
Watch Hill Castle	Bowdon	Motte-and-bailey	0712th century	Yes	The castle is located on the boundary of Bowdon and Dunham Massey. It was constructed from timber, with a motte high, wide at the base, and across at the top; the bailey covers approximately. A coin from the reign of Henry II was discovered at the site, and the castle may have been built during this period. It most likely belonged to Hamon de Massey. If it was built in Henry II's reign, it may have been used in the barons' rebellion against him. The castle had fallen out of use by the 13th century.