Dudley Castle

The motte and bailey construction of Dudley Castle was completed in 1070 by Ansculf of Picardy. He was succeeded by the Paganel family during the 12th century who became lords of Dudley.

In 1327 John Dudley (son of Edmund Dudley economic advisor to Henry VII who was executed by Henry VIII) embarked on a building programme at Dudley Castle including the stunning Sharrington Range, named after his architect.

Dudley rapidly rose through royal ranks to become Duke of Northumberland, and on the death of Henry VIII in 1547 became protector of young king Edward VI. The reign was short and Edward's death in 1553 left the throne open to the accession of Henry's eldest daughter, Mary.

Her Catholicism posed a threat to Henry's religious reformation and the new-found wealth of those who supported it. John Dudley attempted to prevent Mary's accession by conspiring to place his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey on the throne.

The plot foundered and he was executed along with his son and Lady Jane.

On August 11, 1575 Queen Elizabeth 1 visited Dudley Castle and a decade later the site was surveyed as a possible residence for the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots.

During the Civil War Dudley Castle was garrisoned by royalist troops. It was besieged in 1644 and 1646 and surrendered on May 13, 1646. The following year, by order of Parliament, the keep, gatehouse and sections of the curtain wall were slighted.

On July 24, 1750 a fire, which raged for three days, swept through the Sharrington Range, gutting the once-magnificent palace. Dudley Castle was allowed to settle into the role of romantic ruin.

In the late 1800s and early 20th century fetes drew crowds into the courtyard and in May 1937 the Earl of Dudley opened Dudley Zoological Society with exotic animals from across the world.

Iconic Tecton enclosures designed by Berthold Lubetkin's team attracted worldwide interest.

Within 18months of opening Dudley Zoo had attracted one million visitors.

On June 24, 1994 Queen Elizabeth II visited Dudley Castle to open an Interpretation Centre.

Today the castle and its courtyard are the scene of living demonstrations organised by re-enactment groups, along with our highly popular ghost walks which enter into the true spirit of the site — reputed to be haunted by the ghost of The Grey Lady - plus open-air music extravaganzas, children's events and amazing birds of prey displays.

The walls of Dudley Castle are embedded with trilobites — the only animals the world has ever known to have eyes made of crystal.

This now extinct family, distantly related to spiders and scorpions, is preserved in microscopic detail in the walls of both the 11th century castle and adjoining Tudor range.

Calymene blumenbachii is known worldwide as the Dudley Bug.

You can learn more about Dudley Castle by purchasing Towers and Tectons at DZG by Jill Hitchman priced £15, the book is available by calling 01384 215313. It is also available at Waterstone's bookstores.