A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Excavations through this earth showed first, in ascending order, two 

 layers of sand and one of clay, as if the material had been carried from 

 different localities ; these combined were 5 ft. thick. At this height a 

 second ancient floor appeared, shown by a thin layer of vegetable mould ; upon 

 this lay a second rough pavement described as 'about 2 yds. in breadth.' No 

 timbers or rushes or objects of any kind appear to have been found upon this 

 floor, which was at a depth of 7 ft. below the top of the mount. The soil 

 which was subsequently piled upon the second floor was composed of sand, 

 clay, and vegetable mould well mixed together ; it was not in separate layers 

 like that found between the two pavements. 



Briefly summarized, the story which these interesting excavations seem to 

 reveal is that first, a stone-paved timber-palisaded dwelling was erected upon a 

 low mount at the south end of the plateau (AB), and was long inhabited; this 

 low mount would not be a very commanding position, as recorded measurements 

 show it as only a few feet higher than the level of the bailey. Secondly, 

 earth was heaped up over this habitation to a height of 5 ft., and another 

 pavement was laid upon the top. Thirdly, the hill was raised another 7 ft. 

 at least, by the piling up of more earth upon it. These successive stages may 

 be compared with very similar ones revealed by the excavations of the mounts 

 at Arkholme (q.v.) and at Warrington (q.v.). 



As no walls of masonry were ever erected here to replace the first 

 wooden defences, it is probable that the castle, like so many others in the 

 county, went early to ruin ; tradition says that its timbers were used in part 

 construction of the wooden buildings of the adjacent priory by the monks 

 of Evesham ; the site certainly came eventually into their possession. 



The interesting problems have yet to be solved, whether the first low 

 mount with the relics found upon it was the keep of the important little 

 castle known to have been erected shortly prior to 1086, and whether the 

 two later elevations were the work of the subsequent barons. Present 

 evidence is scant and conflicting, but this was probably the case." 



Preston. — In the hamlet of Ashton, in the north-west of this parish, 

 lies the derelict mansion of Tulketh Hall, once surrounded by beautiful 

 pleasure grounds ; in these grounds, probably about 300 ft. south-west of the 

 hall, the earthworks of what appears to have been a mount and court 

 fortalice existed up to the year 1855, when they were unfortunately 

 destroyed. 



The site which they occupied was west 01 the deep valley cut by the 

 Moor Brook between Preston and Ashton. It was on the top of a cliffy 

 over fifty feet high and eighty feet above sea level ; this cliff is now some 

 six hundred yards north of the present banks of the River Ribble, the inter- 

 vening ground being occupied by low land called the Marsh. The cliff at 

 this point projects forward to the south ; at the apex of this projection the 

 earthworks were erected. The situation is eminently suitable for defensive 

 purposes ; it has, moreover, a most extensive outlook, both up and down the 

 river and across it to the castle at Penwortham, five-eighths of a mile to the 

 south. These two fortalices of Tulketh and Penwortham would effectually 



" Dom. Bk. fol. 270 ; Thorber, Tram. Lanes, and Chet. Hist. Soc. ix, 61-76 ; Hardwick, Hiit Preiton 

 (1857), 50-120 ; Taylor, Preston (i8i8), Jo; Baines, Hist. Lanes, (ed. 1868), ii, 151-2 ; Armitage. Enrl. 

 Hut. Rev. XIX, No. 74, pp. 243-5 ; Ord. Surv. i-in. 75, old 89 NW. ; 6-in. Ixi S.W., 25-in. Ixi 13 



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