Dudley Castle

Keep Gate and Keep

Above left: A rather unusual view of the Keep which includes part of the outer perimeter wall (Photograph: Doug Davies)
Above right: A more conventional view of the Keep, with the triple gate in the foreground (and the small elephant statue, which serves as a reminder that for many years Dudley Zoo kept elephants!)
Below: The Sharrington Range, constructed in the 1540's

Sharrington Range

The history of Dudley Castle

Dudley Castle, like many castles in England, was founded shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066. A formidable French knight by the name of Ansculf, who came from Picquigney, near Amiens, gained the estate of Dudley in 1070, following the unsuccessful rebellion of the Saxon lord, Earl Edwin of Mercia ...

A tour of Dudley Castle

You can download a short history of Dudley Castle, and a guided tour of the castle, in PDF (Adobe Reader) format by clicking HERE.

Virtual Tour - material for the virtual tour designed by Colin Johnson to be part of the Visitor Centre.

An Illustrated Chronicle of the Castle and Barony of Dudley - The Book

For more detailed information about Dudley Castle, read the book!

Book cover This book, describing the history of Dudley Castle and the Barony was written by John Hemingway, the Archaeological Officer of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, and was published in 2006 by The Friends of Dudley Castle. 178 pages, including many (colour and black and white) pictures, with a soft cover. £12.50 (excluding postage and packing).

Details of the book and how to order it.

DVDs and CDs

The Friends of Dudley Castle hope to produce a DVD about Dudley Castle, narrated by John Hemingway, the Archaeological Officer of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. All being well this should appear during 2007, and information will appear on this web site when it is available.

More pictures of Dudley Castle

Castle Castle

Above left: East Watch Tower. The tower originally had an outside stairway running down from the ground floor to the basement, and it was called a watch tower in early maps. It also is part of the gatehouse build. It is very debatable that it was built for defensive purposes, but it is definitely an eye-catcher.

Above right: One of the most popular views of the castle - the keep.

Gate Castle