Beeston Castle - Royal Castle

Although most of the defences were in place by the time of Ranulph's death in 1232, there were no living quarters, and neither were there on the death of Ranulph's successor John in 1237. John died without a male heir, allowing King Henry III to take over the Earldom of Cheshire. Henry enlarged Beeston Castle during his wars with Wales, and used it as a prison for his Welsh captives. However, no attempt was made to equip the castle as a permanent residence with halls and chambers; garrisons were probably housed in wooden structures within the outer bailey.

In 1254 Henry gave Beeston, together with other lands in Cheshire, to his son Prince Edward. He also gave the title Earl of Chester to the prince, a title that has been conferred on the heir to the throne of England ever since. Edward was crowned king of England in 1272, and completed the conquest of Wales.

In the middle of the 14th century there are references to men of Cheshire who were made constables of the royal castle. The constable would probably have resided in or near the gatehouse. The habitation was described in an account of the castle in 1593 by Samson Erdeswick, which describes, "a goodly strong gatehouse, and strong wall with other buildings, which when they flourished were a convenient habitation for any great personage."

Beeston was kept in good repair and improved during Edward's reign, and throughout the 14th century. However, by the 16th century, the castle was considered to be of no further use to the English Crown, and in 1602 it was sold to Sir Hugh Beeston (c.1547-1626) of Beeston Hall.

There have been persistent rumours of a treasure hidden by Richard II somewhere in the castle grounds. Richard is supposed to have hidden part of his personal wealth at Beeston on his journey to Chester in 1399, before boarding a ship to Ireland to suppress a rebellion there. On his return, Richard was deposed by Henry, Duke of Lancaster, the future Henry IV, and his treasure is said to have remained undiscovered. Many searches have been carried out, most of them focusing on the deep well in the inner bailey, but nothing has ever been found. The rumour of hidden treasure may not be well-founded, as Henry IV is recorded as having recovered Richard's gold and jewellery from its various hiding places.

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