Legend
Richard II's Lost Treasure
A king's hoard, missing since 1399.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- A gatehouse on a crag above a deep well
- Legend from
- Legend; English Heritage
- Best time
- Any
- Tone
- Adventurous
Somewhere below this crag, a king's treasure has been missing since 1399.
Beeston Castle stands on a rocky crag high above the Cheshire Plain. A long-lived legend says that Richard II hid royal treasure here in 1399, on his way to Chester before he sailed to Ireland. English Heritage says the treasure is said to lie in the inner ward well, one of the deepest castle wells in England, though records suggest Henry IV recovered any stockpiles. The legend led to systematic searches of the well, including a 1935–36 investigation by managers from ICI's Alkali Division in Northwich, involving around 100 people. English Heritage also mentions a 16th-century prophecy that the castle would one day save England.