This could be one meaning of Halton but it can also mean land within a river bend. Halton is recorded in the Domesday book as:
   "a wood one league long and half as broad and in which there is a house (which is) waste. In King Edward’s time it was worth 40s, now 104s. There are two ploughs, four ploughmen, four villagers, two smallholders, two fishermen and two priests."

Archaeology of the castle site has found little. Excavations in the 1980’s found that the south-west side of the hill had been enhanced with ditches and steeper sides but no date could be determined for these activities. It was supposedly the favourite hunting seat of John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster)

The buildings in the south-west ‘motte mound’ or ‘inner bailey’ are mainly military and those in the ‘lower bailey’ are domestic. The inner bailey with four barrel vaulted buildings together with cellars. One of which was probably the Baron’s chamber on the north side of the courtyard and garderobe and sally porte to the left. These were all surrounded by an inner curtain wall beyond which in the lower bailey was the kitchen, storeroom, chapel, private chamber of the Baron, round tower, some domestic buildings (probably timber structured) and twin tower gatehouse (now under the Castle Hotel).

The castle is surrounded by an outer curtain wall which contains arrow slits both for crossbows and arrows. These date after 1200 AD and are in keeping with Lancastrian fortifications of this period. Archaeology discovered that these buildings were built directly on the bedrock and any previous buildings were dismantled and swept clean of the area. This makes earlier dating very difficult. However pottery dating from Medieval to Victorian times has been found, the earliest dating from 1150 -1250 indicating a probable primary date for the castle’s construction. The earliest written records start at 1274 AD with the Minister’s Accounts and Court Records. The primary function of the castle appears to be as a courthouse (which it was from the 1270’s until 1908), prison and storehouse for weapons. On the 27th October 1315 Adam Banaster’s rebel force attacked the castle and gained entry by burning the gates. They captured 100 lances, 100 basinets, 50 haketons and other goods. In 1474 two men from Mold were imprisoned for burglary but they managed to escape, were recaptured, tried and hanged locally.
During investigations an almost complete skeleton of a medieval horse was found and dated by a Cistercian beaker found next to it to between 1480 - 1550 (this has proved to be a very rare find).

By 1609 the castle was in decline and almost completely dismantled by Earl Rivers during the Civil War (of which it was held siege twice). A parliamentary survey of 1650 states:
   "one courtyard, five rooms above the gatehouse, one room where records are kept, one great hall, with two ranges of buildings about it containing nine rooms unfurnished, four of which are roofed with lead, with a prison to confine debtors and criminals."
The gatehouse was removed around 1738 to make way for the new courthouse (now the Castle Hotel).

Meaning North, there is also within Runcorn, Weston (west), Aston (east), Sutton (south). Norton was mentioned in the Domesday book as:
   " The same William Fitz Nigel holds Nortune and Ansfred (holds it of him). Untred and Tokig held it as two manors and were free men. There are two hides that pay geld. There is land for six ploughs. In the demesne there is one ploughland and two serfs, and there are three villains and one plough. There is one fisherman and three acres of meadows and four acres of wood and two hays. It is worth 16s in the time of King Edward, now 9s 4p. He found it waste."

Some time before 1080 AD Nigel (thought to be the cousin of William the Conqueror) was appointed as Constable of Chester and Baron of Halton. It is his son, William (2nd Baron) who built the first priory at Runcorn in 1115 AD. This might have been on the site of the saxon church associated with Aethelfreda (daughter of King Alfred) burgh fortification of 915 AD.

In 1134 the priory moves to Norton, the reason why being given in the Charter as "at the request and advice of Roger, Bishop of Chester".
Archaeological excavations in the 1970’s found timber buildings and evidence of accommodation, gatehouse and stone hearth. The corner of a primitive stone building which was identified as the early church building now lies under the car park. Several casting pits for bells have been found and a replica of the bell produced is located in the priory gardens. This is most likely to be from around 1236 after the first bell fell down in a recorded fire at this time. One of the most unlikely discoveries has been about 16 stretched skulls! How and why the skulls are stretched is a mystery. Other examples have been found in Egypt, Peru, Mexico and North Wales.

Hugh de Cathewick obtained pasturage for 100 sheep between 1144 - 1157 on condition he completed work on building the church at Norton which he did by 1157. The priory was surrounded by extensive moat system, being 6 ft 4 in (2m) deep by 28 ft 6 in (9m) wide. This equates to 3484 feet (1100m) of water! The water was supplied by two springs and the Bannerstich Brook, all of which was destroyed by landscaping in the 1770’s.
In 1187 a Cistercian Abbey was built at Stanlow by John Fitz Richard. It is here that successive Baron’s were buried until 1296 when the monks moved to Whalley taking the graves with them.

Around 1200 the Ditton family became patrons of the priory. By this time the priory had amassed lands including:

•    2/3rd demesne tithes for half of Warburton (near Warrington)
•    1 parcel of land and mill at Millington
•    2/3rd demesne tithes for all Aston (in Runcorn)
•    1/3rd tithes from Aston fisheries
•    House at Burton on Stather
•    House at Derby
•    Land at Tarbock
•    Salt house at Northwich
•    1/3rd lands at Budworth
•    House and 14 acres at Newton near Preston on the Hill
•    Land in Frodsham and Pooley
•    Wood at Keckwick (near Moore)
•    Land at Hendeley
•    Land at Stotsfoldshaw (near Ormskirk)