Dudley Castle
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225009015
2008-07-11T13:01:31Z
Erebus555
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Revert to revision 220142479 dated 2008-06-18 13:58:22 by Erebus555 using [[:en:Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation_popups|popups]]
{{Infobox Historic building
|name = Dudley Castle
|image = Dudley Castle.jpg
|caption = Dudley Castle
|map_type = West Midlands
|latitude = 52.5143
|longitude = -2.0800
|location =
|location_town = [[Dudley]], [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]]
|location_country = [[England]]
|architect =
|client = [[Earl of Dudley]]
|engineer =
|construction_start_date = 8th century
|completion_date = 1530
|date_demolished = 1750 (destroyed by fire)
|cost =
|structural_system =
|style =
|size =
}}
'''Dudley Castle''' is a [[ruins|ruined]] [[castle]] in the town of [[Dudley]], [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], [[England]]. [[Dudley Zoo]] is located in its grounds. The 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|Wren's Nest Hill]] is a [[Scheduled Monument|Scheduled Ancient Monument]] as the best surviving remains of the limestone industry in Dudley. It is also a Grade I [[listed building]]. The [[Dudley Tunnel]] runs beneath Castle Hill, but not the castle itself.
==History==
According to legend, a wooden castle was constructed on the site in the 8th century by a [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] lord called Dud or Dado.<ref>[http://www.himleyhousehotel.com/area.html Himley House Hotel]</ref> A castle was recorded at the time of the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086.
Much of the castle which can be seen today dates from the 12th and 13th centuries, although in 1530 it was rebuilt as a [[Renaissance]] palace by [[John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland]]. Dudley was later beheaded, accused of hatching a plot to behead [[Mary I of England|Queen Mary]]. The castle was later considered as a possible place of imprisonment for [[Mary I of Scotland|Mary Queen of Scots]]. A century later, the castle became a Royalist stronghold during the [[English Civil War]], but was surrendered to [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell's]] forces in 1646.
The bulk of the castle was destroyed by fire in 1750, previous to which the living accommodation was used by the [[Earl of Dudley|Earls of Dudley]]. The Dudley family then moved to the nearby [[Himley Hall]], but were responsible for the site until 1937, when the zoo was established.
[[Image:DudleyGig2000.jpg|thumb|left|A two-day rock concert was staged at the castle in 2000.]]
The castle gained fame in 2002 as the venue for the very first live venue for ''Most Haunted Live'' on [[October 31]] ([[Halloween]]).
The castle also holds the distinction for being the site of the first solid evidence of condoms and their use.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plannedparenthood.org/resources/bc-history-6547.htm|title=A History of birth control methods}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://goeurope.about.com/cs/sex/a/condom.htm|title=Condom Capers - Condoms, Cathedrals, Castles and Caves}}</ref>
The maps of [[Christopher Saxton]] drawn in 1579 and [[John Speed]] in 1610, mark Dudley Castle in the County of Staffordshire not Worcestershire.<ref> Richardson, Eric, The Black Country as Seen through Antique Maps, The Black Country Society, 2000. ISBN 0904015602</ref>
==Visitor centre==
The castle visitor centre was opened by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II]] in June 1994, and amongst other exhibits housed a computer generated reconstruction of the castle as it was in 1550, displayed through hardware that demonstrated the first use of the [[virtual tour]] concept, prior to its widespread adoption as a Web-based browser utility. More details of how Her Majesty became the first Royal to experience a virtual world [http://www.exrenda.net/dudley/index.htm here].
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.dudleyzoo.org.uk Dudley Zoo and Castle]
*{{mmuk phoetc|394800|290800|5}}
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in the West Midlands]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Dudley]]
[[Category:Ruins in England]]
[[Category:Visitor attractions in the West Midlands]]