Constructed approximately 760 years ago, there is sadly no longer any visible evidence of the Castle that overlooked the River Mersey in the 13th Century. The Victorian Monument currently stands in it's place. Surrounded by a dry moat, the structure consisted of four towers, a hall, chamber, brewhouse and a bakehouse. The Castle is believed to have been built under the instruction of the Earl of Derby, Willam de Ferrers and there it stood for 500 years. In the early 1300's it came under unsuccessful attack and then again during the Civil War. Parliament insisted that all civil war defences be removed in the middle of the 17th Century, however, demolition was never completed and the Castle remained standing until lengthy legal battles decided it's eventual fate.

The Castle was eventually removed in 1726 and replaced with the church of St George, designed by dock engineer Thomas Steers. However, the church was demolished and completely rebuilt only 25 years later following structural problems. The rebuild survived for over a hundred years before it too was demolished. The building of houses and new churches away from the city centre resulted in the demise of the church's congregation. Three years later, in 1902, the Victoria Monument was erected on the site.

The construction of underground public toilets in the area provided an invaluable opportunity to excavate the site of the Castle in the 1920's and the location and course of the moat were plotted more accurately than ever before. More recently, before construction of the Queen Elizabeth II Courts commenced in 1976, part of the Civil War defences comprising of a ditch, were discovered.

Although the surrounding area of the original site was ripped to pieces during the war, the original site remained untouched and stands today in the form of the Queen Victoria Monument, at the end of Castle Street.