Coordinates: 52.9493°N 1.

1546°W

Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle is a castle in Nottingham, England, in a commanding position on a
Nottingham Castle
natural promontory known as "Castle Rock", with cliffs 130 feet (40 m) high to the south and
west. In the Middle Ages it was a major royal fortress and occasional royal residence. In Nottingham, England
decline by the 16th century, it was largely demolished in 1649. The Duke of Newcastle later
built a mansion on the site, which was burnt down by rioters in 1831 and left as a ruin. It was
later rebuilt to house an art gallery and museum, which remain in use. Little of the original
castle survives, but sufficient portions remain to give an impression of the layout of the site.

Contents
Medieval history
Royal residence
The Castle Gate House shows the medieval architecture
Civil war
of the bridge and lower towers against the Victorian
The present 'Ducal Mansion' renovation of the upper towers and gate house
Nottingham Castle Museum
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Medieval history
The first Norman castle on Castle Rock was a wooden structure of a motte-and-bailey design,
begun in 1068, two years after the Battle of Hastings, on the orders of William the
Conqueror.[1] This wooden structure was replaced by a far more defensible stone castle
during the reign of King Henry II, of an imposing and complex architectural design, which
eventually comprised an upper bailey at the highest point of the castle rock, a middle bailey
to the north containing the main royal apartments, and a large outer bailey to the east.[2]

For centuries the castle served as one of the most important in England for nobles and
royalty alike. In a strategic position due to its location near a crossing of the River Trent, it
was also known as a place of leisure, being close to the royal hunting grounds at Tideswell,
the "Kings Larder" in the Royal Forest of the Peak, and also close to the royal forests of
Barnsdale and Sherwood. The castle also had its own deer park in the area immediately to
the west, still known as The Park.[3] Nottingham
Castle

While King Richard I ("the Lionheart") was away on the Third Crusade, along with a great
number of English noblemen, Nottingham Castle was occupied by supporters of Prince John,
including the Sheriff of Nottingham. In the legends of Robin Hood, Nottingham Castle is the
scene of the final showdown between the Sheriff and the heroic outlaw.[4]

In March 1194, an historic battle took place at Nottingham Castle, part of the returned King
Richard's campaign to put down the rebellion of Prince John. The castle was the site of a
Coordinates 52.9493°N 1.1546°W
decisive attack when King Richard besieged it after constructing some siege machines
similar to those used on crusade. Richard was aided by Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Type Enclosure castle
Chester, and David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon. The castle surrendered after just a Site information
few days.[5]
Owner Nottingham City Council
Shortly before his 18th birthday, King Edward III, with the help of a few trusted companions Site history
led by Sir William Montagu, staged a coup d'état at Nottingham Castle (19 October 1330) Built 1068
against his mother Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Both
Isabella and Mortimer were acting as Regents during Edward's minority following their Built by William the Conqueror
murder of his father Edward II at Berkeley Castle. William Montagu and his companions William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle
were accompanied by William Eland, castellan and overseer of Mortimer's castle, who knew In use Museum and art gallery
the location of a secret tunnel which would take them higher up in the castle to a normally
locked door. In the dark of night on 19 October 1330, Montagu and his companions entered Events English Civil War
the tunnel, climbed up to the door, which had now been unlocked either by Edward III or a
trusted servant, and overpowered Mortimer, killing Mortimer's personal guards. Mortimer was bound and gagged, led out of the tunnel and
arrested, along with Queen Mother Isabella. Mortimer was sent to the Tower of London, and hanged a month later. Isabella of France was forced
into retirement at Castle Rising Castle. With this dramatic event the personal reign of Edward began.[6] These events seem to be echoed in an
interpolation made to a metrical chronicle in around 1331, which describes the caves beneath the castle as having been carved out by Lancelot in his
attempts to hide Guinevere from King Arthur following their adulterous affair. This seems to be the earliest reference to Lancelot and Guinevere's
adultery that exists.[7]
Royal residence

Edward III used the castle as a residence and held Parliaments. In 1346 King David II of Scotland was held
prisoner. In 1365 Edward III improved the castle with a new tower on the west side of the Middle Bailey and a
new prison under the High Tower. In 1376 Peter de la Mare, speaker of the House of Commons was confined in
Nottingham Castle for having 'taken unwarrantable liberties with the name of Alice Perrers, mistress of the
king'.[8]

In 1387 the state council was held in the castle. Richard II held the Lord Mayor of London with Aldermen and
Sheriffs in the castle in 1392, and held another state council for the purpose of humbling Londoners. The last
visit recorded by Richard II was in 1397 when another council was held here.[9] Victorian reconstruction of the likely
appearance of the castle in the late
From 1403 until 1437 it was the main residence of Henry IV's queen, Joan. After the residence of Joan medieval period
maintenance was reduced. Only upon the Wars of the Roses did Nottingham Castle begin to be used again as a
military stronghold. Edward IV proclaimed himself king in Nottingham, and in 1476 he ordered the construction
of a new tower and Royal Apartments. This was described by John Leland in 1540 as:

'the most beautifulest part and gallant building for lodging... a right sumptuous piece of stone work.'[10]

During the reign of King Henry VII the castle remained a royal fortress. Henry VIII ordered new tapestries for the castle before he visited
Nottingham in August 1511. By 1536 Henry had the castle reinforced and its garrison increased from a few dozen men to a few hundred. In 1538 the
Constable, the Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, reported on the need for maintenance. A survey in 1525 stated that there was much 'dekay and
ruyne of said castell' and

'part of the roof of the Great Hall is fallen down. Also the new building there is in dekay of timber, lead and glass'.[11]

Civil war

The castle ceased to be a royal residence by 1600 and was largely rendered obsolete in the 17th century by artillery. A short time following the
outbreak of the English Civil War, the castle was already in a semi-ruined state after a number of skirmishes occurred on the site. At the start of the
Civil War, in August 1642, Charles I chose Nottingham as the rallying point for his armies, but soon after he departed, the castle rock was made
defensible and held by the parliamentarians. Commanded by John Hutchinson, they repulsed several Royalist attacks, and they were the last group
to hold the castle. In 1648 the Royalist commander Marmaduke Langdale, fleeing after defeat in the Battle of Preston, was captured and held in
Nottingham Castle, but he managed to escape and make his way to Europe. In 1651, two years after the execution of Charles I in 1649, the castle was
razed to prevent it being used again.[12]

The present 'Ducal Mansion'

After the restoration of Charles II in 1660, the present 'Ducal Mansion' was built by Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke
of Newcastle between 1674 and 1679 on the foundations of the previous structure. Despite the destruction of the
keep and fortifications of the upper bailey, some rock cut cellars and medieval pointed arches survive beneath
the mansion, together with a long passage to the bottom of the rock, commonly known as Mortimer's Hole,
through which guided tours take place, starting at the Castle and ending at Brewhouse Yard.[13]

The mason for the Mansion was Samuel Marsh of Lincoln, who also worked for the Duke at Bolsover Castle. His
designs are generally thought to have been strongly influenced by Rubens's engravings, in his book Palazzi di
Genova.[14] The Duke's mansion is a rare surviving example in England of Artisan Mannerist architecture.[15] A depiction of the castle on fire in
1831
However, it lost its appeal to the later Dukes with the coming of the Industrial Revolution, which left
Nottingham with the reputation of having the worst slums in the British Empire outside India. When residents
of these slums rioted in 1831, in protest against the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to the Reform Act 1832 they
burned down the mansion.[16]

The original exterior stairs on the eastern façade of the mansion were subsequently demolished to create a
parade ground for the Robin Hood Rifles.[17]

The mansion remained a derelict shell until it was restored in 1875 by Thomas Chambers Hine, and opened in
1878 by the Prince of Wales, (later King Edward VII) as Nottingham Castle Museum,[18] the first municipal art
gallery in the UK outside London. The new interiors ignored the original floor levels and fenestration to
accommodate a top-lit picture gallery modelled after the Grand Gallery of the Louvre.[19] The castle from The History and
Antiquities of Nottingham by James
The gatehouse of the medieval castle and much of the walling of the outer bailey was retained as a garden wall Orange, 1840
for the Ducal mansion. However, the northernmost part of the outer bailey was lost when an approach road was
constructed in the 1830s for the development of The Park Estate on the former deer park.[20]

On Christmas Day 1996 a landslip, caused by a leaking water main, led to 80 tonnes of earth and retaining wall from the Restoration terrace next to
the Mansion falling to the bottom of the Castle rock. This revealed some remains of the original castle foundations and the bedrock. After a lengthy
controversy on the best conservation/restoration approach, the terrace was reinstated with a traditional stone façade.[21] The terrace offers great
views to the south of the city, and appeared in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, a film about the
changing attitude of youth in a changing industrial society.[22]

A drawing of the Ducal Mansion appeared on millions of packets of rolling tobacco and cigarettes made by John
Player & Sons, a Nottingham firm. Most packets had the phrases Nottingham Castle and Trade Mark
bracketing the image of the non-fortress-like structure. This led the novelist Ian Fleming to refer to "that Entrance to the Ducal Mansion
extraordinary trademark of a dolls house swimming in chocolate fudge with Nottingham Castle written (2012)
underneath" in Thunderball, in the knowledge that his British readers would be familiar with the image.[23]

The building is due to undergo a multi-million renovation in 2018.[24]

Nottingham Castle Museum

Until its closure in July 2018 (the castle will be closed for two years for a £30 million redevelopment)[25] the ducal mansion was still in use as a
museum and art gallery. It housed most of the City of Nottingham's fine and decorative art collections, galleries on the history and archaeology of
Nottingham and the surrounding areas, and the regimental museum of the Sherwood Foresters.[26] Notable elements of the collections were:[27]

15th-century Nottingham alabaster carvings, including those found in 1779 at St. Peter's Church, Flawford
Watercolours by Richard Parkes Bonnington and Paul Sandby
The Joseph Collection of Wedgwood Jasperware
The Ballantyne Collection of contemporary ceramics
Salt-glazed stoneware, including locally-made "bear jugs"
A costume collection including Nottingham lace making
Roman votive offerings from the Temple of Diana Nemorensis at Lake Nemi (mostly no longer on public display)
Works by George Wallis

Additionally, The Nottingham Castle Victoria Cross Memorial, dedicated on 7 May 2010, lists Albert Ball and 19 other Nottinghamshire recipients of
the Victoria Cross.[28]

Fine art from Britain and continental Europe was on display in the Long Gallery of the Castle. It included works by artists from Nottinghamshire
such as Thomas Barber, Richard Bonington, Henry Dawson, Paul Sandby and John Rawson Walker, and 20th-century works by Edward Burra,
Tristram Hillier, Ivon Hitchens, Dame Laura Knight, Harold Knight, L.S. Lowry, William, Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Stanley Spencer, Matthew
Smith and Edward Wadsworth.[29]

See also
 History of Nottingham
References
1. "Nottingham Castle, Nottingham, Nottingham" (https://historicenglan
d.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/nottingham-ca
stle-nottingham-9683). Historic England. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
2. "Nottingham Castle Outer Bailey, Nottingham" (https://historicenglan
d.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/nottingham-ca
stle-outer-bailey-7497). Historic England. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
3. "This is what Nottingham's unique Park Estate has to offer home
buyers" (https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/property/what-notting
hams-unique-park-estate-727356). Nottingham Post. 5 November
2017. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
4. "Robin Hood pardoned by Sheriff of Nottingham" (https://www.bbc.c
o.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-25004289). BBC News
Online (20 November 2013). British Broadcasting Corporation. 10
May 2015.
5. Gillingham, John (2000). Richard I. p. 269. ISBN 0300094043.
6. Ian Mortimer, The Perfect King. The Life of Edward III, London:
Vintage Books, 2008., p 1–3.
7. Helen Cooper, 'Lancelot, Roger Mortimer, and the Date of the
Auchinleck Manuscript', in The Key of All Good Remembrance, ed.
by A. J Fletcher and Anne-Marie D'Arcy (Dublin: Portland, 2005), pp. 12. Brown, Cornelius (1896). "A History of Nottinghamshire" (http://www.
91-99.
8. Old and New Nottingham. William Howie Wylie. 1853
9. Brown, Cornelius (1896). "A History of Nottinghamshire" (http://www.
nottshistory.org.uk/Brown1896/nottingham2.htm). p. 2. Retrieved
8 June 2018.
10. Armitage, Jill (2015). "Nottingham A History" (https://books.google.c
o.uk/books?id=y0xpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT54&lpg=PT54&dq=%27the+
most+beautifulest+part+and+gallant+building+for+lodging...+a+right+
sumptuous+piece+of+stone+work.%27&source=bl&ots=ZrdKCfymW
g&sig=sPjVS-qgNzJd9VyNnxqqf_1y-YM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKE
wiJlqzp7sTbAhUKI8AKHVckAAgQ6AEIMjAB#v=onepage&q='the%2
0most%20beautifulest%20part%20and%20gallant%20building%20fo
r%20lodging...%20a%20right%20sumptuous%20piece%20of%20sto
ne%20work.'&f=false). Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445634982.
11. Armitage, Jill (2015). Nottingham A History (https://books.google.co.u
k/books?id=y0xpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT55&lpg=PT55&dq=Nottingham+
Castle+%27part+of+the+roof+of+the+Great+Hall+is+fallen+down.+Al
so+the+new+building+there+is+in+dekay+of+timber,+lead+and+glas
s&source=bl&ots=ZrdKCfyqTo&sig=cjJF98IpkFIZ0qoHXy54riOMACA
&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwijpa-d8MTbAhUKCsAKHR-kCHcQ6AE
IOTAB#v=onepage&q=Nottingham%20Castle%20'part%20of%20th
e%20roof%20of%20the%20Great%20Hall%20is%20fallen%20dow
n.%20Also%20the%20new%20building%20there%20is%20in%20de
kay%20of%20timber%2C%20lead%20and%20glass&f=false).
Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445634982.
nottshistory.org.uk/Brown1896/nottingham4.htm). p. 4. Retrieved
8 June 2018.
13. "Mortimer's Hole" (https://nottinghamhiddenhistoryteam.wordpress.co
m/2013/04/13/mortimers-hole/). Wordpress. 13 April 2013. Retrieved
8 June 2018.
14. Sir John Summerson Pelican History of Art: Architecture in England
1530–1830, Harmondsworth 1953 p104
15. "Nottingham Buildings and Structures" (https://www.ranker.com/list/n
ottingham-buildings-and-structures/reference). Ranker. Retrieved
8 June 2018.
16. "See the Riot of 1831 brought to life at Nottingham Castle" (http://ne
ws.experiencenottinghamshire.com/see-the-riot-of-1831-brought-to-li
fe-at-nottingham-castle/). Experience Nottinghamshire. Retrieved
8 June 2018.
17. "Nottingham Castle" (http://www.bargaintraveleurope.com/15/UK_No
ttingham_Castle.html). Bargain Travel Europe. Retrieved 8 June
2018.
18. "Nottingham Castle" (http://www.culture24.org.uk/em000016).
Culture 24. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
19. "Nottingham Castle" (https://fletchersguides.wordpress.com/2015/09/
19/nottingham-castle/). Fletcher's Guides. 19 September 2015.
Retrieved 8 June 2018.
20. Armitage, Jill (2015). "Nottingham A History" (https://books.google.c
o.uk/books?id=y0xpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT57&lpg=PT57&dq=%22Notti
ngham+Castle%22+outer+bailey+Park+Estate+1830s&source=bl&ot
s=ZrdKCgqoRm&sig=A2EsUbY14y64q5fnuGLNCPaTHiI&hl=en&sa=
X&ved=0ahUKEwiLqaPt9sTbAhVlL8AKHSeUBPUQ6AEITzAI#v=one
page&q=%22Nottingham%20Castle%22%20outer%20bailey%20Par
k%20Estate%201830s&f=false). Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-
1445634982.
21. "Castle rebuild can start at last" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/n
ottinghamshire/4576265.stm). BBC. 24 May 2005. Retrieved 8 June
2018.
22. "Saturday Night director dies" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/featu
res/2002/11/saturday_night.shtml). BBC. 28 November 2002.
Retrieved 8 June 2018.
23. Armitage, Jill (2015). "Nottingham A History" (https://books.google.c
o.uk/books?id=y0xpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT154&lpg=PT154&dq=%22th
at+extraordinary+trademark+of+a+dolls+house+swimming+in+choco
late+fudge+with+Nottingham+Castle+written+underneath%22+Flemi
ng&source=bl&ots=ZrdKCgrkVi&sig=ErAQg9L92WXnOcCv-hEMr6O
7Tzw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixm9ac-cTbAhUGecAKHQSHDU
8Q6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=%22that%20extraordinary%20tradema
rk%20of%20a%20dolls%20house%20swimming%20in%20chocolat
e%20fudge%20with%20Nottingham%20Castle%20written%20under
neath%22%20Fleming&f=false). Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-
1445634982.
24. "The Transformation of Nottingham Castle is happening! -
Nottingham Castle Trust" (http://www.nottinghamcastletrust.org/).
Nottingham Castle Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
25. "Closing date for Nottingham Castle confirmed ahead of £30m
revamp" (https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/cl
osing-date-nottingham-castle-confirmed-1599876). Nottingham Post.
23 May 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
26. "Sherwood Foresters Regimental Museum" (http://discovery.national
archives.gov.uk/details/a/A13530708). National Archives. Retrieved
8 June 2018.
27. "The Macmillan Guide to the United Kingdom 1978-79" (https://book
s.google.co.uk/books?id=Ot-vCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA557&lpg=PA557&d
q=%22nottingham+castle+museum%22+alabaster+bonnington+san
dby&source=bl&ots=3RN3ZjtNR0&sig=AXYWDjUfMSl62EbGz_94qw
DpAKA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSzcf0-cTbAhVlLsAKHWZhAs
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m%22%20alabaster%20bonnington%20sandby&f=false). Palgrave
Macmillan. 1978. p. 557. ISBN 978-1-349-81511-1.
28. "Nottingham Castle Victoria Cross Memorial Project" (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20110618231831/http://www.nottinghamshire-victoria-cr
oss-memorial.org.uk/index.html). The Nottingham & Nottinghamshire
Victoria Cross Committee. Archived from the original (http://www.notti
nghamshire-victoria-cross-memorial.org.uk/index.html) on 18 June
2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
29. Art Gallery and Museum Collections at Nottingham Castle (http://ww
w.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2929) Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20130509100658/http://www.nottinghamcity.go
v.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2929) 9 May 2013 at the Wayback
Machine. Nottingham City Council. Accessed April 2013
Further reading
Foulds, Trevor (1991), "The Siege of Nottingham Castle in 1194" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120111134559/http://www.deremilitari.org/resou
rces/articles/foulds.htm), Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, XCV: 20–28, archived from the original (http://www.deremilita
ri.org/resources/articles/foulds.htm) on 11 January 2012, retrieved 5 January 2012

External links
Official website (http://www.nottinghamcastle.org.uk)
360 degree virtual tour of the present mansion at the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/360/where_to_go/castle/index.shtml)
Article on the 1831 riots (http://parallax-viewpoint.blogspot.com/2016/10/where-is-nottingham-castle.html), and Follow-up on George Hearson (ht
tp://parallax-viewpoint.blogspot.com/2016/10/more-on-george-hearson.html), one of the hanged

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