Macclesfield Castle

John de Macclesfield began construction of the castle in 1398 — a square sandstone fortified manor house with projecting wings and decorative towers, probably influenced by the contemporary building of Bodiam Castle and alterations to Kenilworth, whose payments John may have organised as Keeper of the Wardrobe. Though he fell out of favour and returned home to Macclesfield after being replaced in that office, he was granted a licence to crenellate in 1410.

On John's death in 1422 his estates passed to his illegitimate children, and by 1444 the lands had been bought by Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham — after whose family the house became known as Buckingham Palace or Buckingham Castle. From 1485 it passed into the hands of the Stanley family, Earls of Derby; when Henry VII visited the Earl of Derby in Macclesfield in 1496, it is assumed he stayed at the castle.

By 1585 the building was ruinous — Smith's description that year recorded the square plan with projecting wings and decorative towers. All that survived into the 20th century was the porch, coursed rubble sandstone faced with ashlar, with an unusual vaulted interior bearing a Tudor rose dating it to the reign of Henry VII. It was dismantled in 1932 and the site reused for cottages and shops.