Praers on 25 August of the same year. His grandson Thomas Praers alienated most of his lands, including the castle, to his neighbour John Gryffyn of Bartherton during his lifetime for the nominal rent of one rose annually. This act appears to have been contested as, on 16 May 1344, Edward, the Black Prince, Earl of Chester, wrote: On Thomas Praers' death, the castle passed by the marriage of his daughter and heir, Elizabeth, to Sir Robert Fouleshurst, and subsequently remained in the Fouleshurst family. The castle was last recorded in 1462, and had fallen into ruins by 1485. Stone from the castle is thought to have been reused in St Mary's Church, according to some sources for building the Kingsley Chapel (south transept); however, the chapel probably dates from around 1405. In 1550, the area was called Lamburcote or Lambercote, and was grazing land. By the early 19th century, when George Ormerod wrote his History, no trace of the castle remained above ground. Much of the area was levelled for use as a car park in the 1950s. Modern remains In 1978, excavations behind the Crown Inn by Robina McNeil Sale and others found evidence of terracing, perhaps representing a platform or mound. These excavations also uncovered two aligned ditches, a steep-sided earlier one, possibly pre-medieval in date, and a larger medieval one. The later of these might have formed the outer bailey of the castle, although it is smaller than those of most castles, possibly because the nearby river formed a natural barrier. Alternatively, it might have been used as a moat. This ditch was allowed to silt up in the 13th century, which might indicate when the castle ceased to have a defensive function. The earlier ditch might be an earlier part of the castle's defences, which was replaced by the later ditch. Alternatively, it might form part of an earlier structure, perhaps the ditch mentioned in the Domesday survey as surrounding one side of the town's salt houses. Earlier excavations of 1974 and 1976 behind 28 High Street (then the National Westminster Bank) by David Hill of Manchester University also uncovered a large ditch, which McNeil Sale considers is likely to be a continuation of one of the ditches from the 1978 excavations. Evidence for a drawbridge was uncovered during sewerage works in 1979. No evidence for stone buildings has yet been discovered. This might be