Forum:Individual Castles
Topic:Dudley Castle
Want to register?
Who Can Post? Any registered users may post a reply.
About Registration You must be registered in order to post a topic or reply in this forum.
Posting Tips: You will receive a much better response to your questions if you include your age and as much detail as possible. Both of these things allows a person to give you an answer specific to your question and age group.
Your UserName:
Your Password:   Forget your password?
Message Icon:                                           
                                          
                                          
Your Reply:


*HTML is OFF
*UBB Code is ON
[IMG] UBB Code Not Allowed!

Options Show Signature: include your profile signature. Only registered users may have signatures.

If you have previously registered, but forgotten your password, click here.

*If HTML and/or UBB Code are enabled, this means you can use HTML and/or UBB Code in your message.

T O P I C     R E V I E W
Liontmr64Would like some information on Dudley Castle. My ancestors lived there from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Thanks.
Philip DavisThe following is what Plantagenet Somerset Fry has to say about Dudley in his book Castles of the British Isles (A book with the widest Gazette of British Castles I have ever found)

-

A motte castle with an oval bailey mentioned in 1086 (Domesday Book) was destroyed in 1175. It stood in a magnificent position on a levelled hill just outside and over 100ft above the town. it was owned by Gervase de Paynel, who supported the revolt of Prince Henry against his father, Henry II, in 1173-4, and de Paynel paid for backing the wrong side by losing his castle. The castle site lay desolate until the middle of the thirteenth century when a descendent, Roger de Somery, began to rebuild. He was granted a licence in 1265 but died in 1272 before the new works were anything like complete. These were carried on by his son, John, who made himself loathed in the nieghbourhood for the dishonest and bullying means by which he raised money to pay for them.
John de Somery's work included an interesting great tower opon the old motte, rectangular in plan but with cylindrical turrets on the four corners. Dudley's great tower rose two storeys, and part of the tower remains. The work also included a tall enclosing curtain wall, about 8ft thick, and a substantial square plan gatehouse which incorporates fragments of the castle's original gateway of the 12th century.
Later in the 14th century, a chapel, a hall and other domestic buildings were erected round the inside of the curtain, and the gatehouse was reinforced with a twin-cylindrical flanking towered barbican front which is now in ruins.
Dudley was taken over by the Dudley family in the reign if Henry VIII, and much of the dwelling part remoddled by John Dudley, Viscount Lisle and later Duke of Northumberland, who was the protector of the Realm during the last two years of the reign of Edward VI. The castle was garrisioned by the Royalist during the Civil War. It was captured by Parliamentary forces in 1645, and the great tower was partly demolished by order in 1646.

-

The Castle is now a zoo, with some great 30's Modernism animal enclosure (Great architecture, not so great for the animals). The castle remains are open, it is possible to climb to the top of the ruined great tower and an multimedia tour of the castle is housed within the keep.

The Castle does publish a small guide which contains more information, which you should be able to obtain by post if you contact them.

Philip DavisFor a picture try this site;

http://www.woden.com/dudley/castle.html

The site promises a virtual tour but I couldn't get it.

Philip DavisAnd the castles own site is at;

http://www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/

(sorry about the multiple postings)

Contact Us | Castles on the Web

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board (UltimateBB), Version 5.40
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998-1999.



Castles on the WebHome
Castles on the WebIntroduction
Castles on the WebCastle Quest
Castles on the WebSite of the Day
Castles on the WebCastle Tours
Castles on the WebCastle Collections
Castles on the WebNew Sites
Castles on the WebPopular Sites
Castles on the WebPhoto Archive
Castles on the WebMiscellaneous
Castles on the WebCastles for Kids
Castles on the WebCastle Glossary
Castles on the WebPalaces & Homes
Castles on the WebMedieval Studies
Castles on the WebAccommodations
Castles on the WebTop Rated
Castles on the WebCastle Postcards
Castles on the WebHeraldry Links
Castles on the WebMyths & Legends
Castles on the WebOrganizations
Castles on the WebCastle Books
Castles on the WebAbbeys & Churches
Castles on the WebWeapons/Supplies
Castles on the WebRandom Site
Castles on the WebAdd A Castle Site
Castles on the WebAcknowledgements
Castles on the WebSearch Options
Castles on the WebPlease Help Us!
Castles on the WebPlease Link To Us
Castles on the WebContact Us

Castles on the Web Copyright 1995- | Privacy Policy