Dudley Castle

Dudley Castle
Part of Dudley Zoological Gardens
Dudley, West Midlands
The keep of Dudley Castle
Dudley Castle is located in West Midlands county
Dudley Castle
Dudley Castle
Coordinates52°30′51″N 2°04′48″W / 52.5142°N 2.0800°W / 52.5142; -2.0800
TypeMotte and Bailey
Site information
OwnerDudley Metropolitan Borough Council
Controlled byDudley and West Midlands Zoological Society
Open to
the public
Yes
ConditionRuined
Site history
Built1070
Built byAnsculf de Picquigny
In useUntil 1750
MaterialsLimestone
Battles/warsThe Anarchy
English Civil War

Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but subsequently demolished on the orders of Henry II of England. Rebuilding of the castle took place from the second half of the thirteenth century and culminated in the construction of a range of buildings within the fortifications by John Dudley. The fortifications were slighted by order of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War and the residential buildings destroyed by fire in 1750. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century the site was used for fêtes and pageants. Today Dudley Zoo is located on its grounds.

Its location, Castle Hill, is an outcrop of Wenlock Group limestone that was extensively quarried during the Industrial Revolution and which now, along with Wren's Nest Hill, is a scheduled monument of the best surviving remains of the limestone industry in Dudley. It is also a Grade I listed building. Localised structural problems lead to it being placed on Historic England's Heritage at Risk register in 2020.[1]

The Dudley Tunnel runs beneath Castle Hill, but not the castle itself.

  1. ^ "Heritage at Risk: Latest Findings". Historic England. Retrieved 20 June 2021.