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.
The keep of Dudley Castle
The castle was partly demolished in 1646 on the orders of Parliament.
During the Tudor period, John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland ordered the construction of a range of new buildings within the ancient castle.
A plan of the castle from J. D. Mackenzie's The Castles of England: their story and structure
Dudley is a market town in the West Midlands, England, 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Wolverhampton and 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the 2011 census, it had a population of 79,379. The Metropolitan Borough, which includes the towns of Stourbridge and Halesowen, had a population of 312,900. In 2014, the borough council adopted a slogan describing Dudley as the capital of the Black Country, a title by which it had long been informally known.
From top left: Dudley Town Centre viewed from Castle Hill with the spire of St Thomas church; Dudley Priory; Dudley Zoo; Dudley Market Place; Dudley Castle; Statue of William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley.
Dudley Castle
Dudley Art Deco Cinema, now a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall
Dudley Council House, seat of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council