Newcastle Castle

Castle in Newcastle upon Tyne

Castle Newcastle Upon Tyne — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Chabe01

Newcastle Castle is a medieval fortification in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

It is thought that an Iron Age fort existed here and later a first century Roman Fort. However, the first confirmed fortification was an unusually small Roman fort built around AD 120 to protect and defend their bridge over the River Tyne. The settlement was named after the bridge, Pons Aelius or Hadrian’s bridge. It was to be the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall although this was soon changed and the Wall was extended onto Wallsend.

The Normans founded a ‘new’ castle on the site in 1080 which gave the city it’s name. Robert Curthose built a motte-and-bailey castle in a corner of the original Roman fort. Henry II built the stone Castle Keep between 1172 and 1177 on the site of Curthose’s castle. Henry III added the Black Gate between 1247 and 1250. In the fourteenth century the Newcastle town walls were built which enclosed the castle within the perimeter. The castle was a major stronghold in the various medieval wars between England and Scotland, and last saw action during the English Civil War and the Siege of Newcastle in 1644.

The most prominent remaining structures on the site are the Castle Keep, the castle’s main fortified stone tower, and the Black Gate, its fortified gatehouse. Nothing remains of the Roman fort or the original motte and bailey castle.

The Newcastle Castle appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Newcastle upon Tyne!

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