Dudley Castle is a ruined castle in the town of Dudley, 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 Hill is a 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. Ury House, Aberdeenshire ruined by removal of the roof after the second world war to avoid taxation. ... For other uses, see Castle (disambiguation). ... Map sources for Dudley at grid reference SO9390 Dudley is a town in the West Midlands, England. ... The County of West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a population of around 2,600,000 people. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Dudley Zoo is located within the grounds of Dudley Castle in the town of Dudley which is part of the Black Country in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. ... Wenlock Group (Wenlockian), in geology, is the middle series of strata in the Silurian (Upper Silurian) of Great Britain. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A Scheduled Ancient Monument is defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the National Heritage Act 1983 of the United Kingdom government. ... The Forth Bridge, designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, opened in 1890, and now owned by Network Rail, is designated as a Category A listed building by Historic Scotland. ... Dudley Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Dudley No. ...

Dudley Castle.

History

According to legend, a wooden castle was constructed on the site in the 8th century by a Saxon lord called Dud or Dado.^[1] A castle was recorded at the time of the Domesday Book of 1086. (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... For other uses, see Anglo-Saxon. ... A line drawing entitled Domesday Book from Andrew Williamss Historic Byways and Highways of Old England. ... Events Domesday Book is completed in England Emperor Shirakawa of Japan starts his cloistered rule Imam Ali Mosque is rebuilt by the Seljuk Malik Shah I after being destroyed by fire. ...

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, Duke of Northumberland. (Dudley was later beheaded, accused of hatching a plot to behead Queen Mary). The castle was later considered as a possible place of imprisonment for Mary Queen of Scots. A century later, the castle became a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War, but was surrendered to Cromwell's forces in 1646. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... John Dudley (1501-1553) was a Tudor nobleman and politician, executed for high treason by Queen Mary I of England. ... Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 6 July 1553 (de facto) or 19 July 1553 (de jure) until her death on 17 November 1558. ... Mary I of Scotland; known as Mary, Queen of Scots Mary I of Scotland (Mary Stuart or Stewart) (December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587), better known as Mary, Queen of Scots, was the ruler of Scotland from December 14, 1542 – July 24, 1567. ... For other uses, see English Civil War (disambiguation). ...

The bulk of the castle was destroyed by fire in 1750, previous to which the living accommodation was used by the 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. Year 1750 (MDCCL) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Himley Hall is a country house situated between Kingswinford and Wombourne, near Dudley in Staffordshire, England. ...

The castle gained fame in 2002 as the venue for the very first Live venue for Most Haunted Live on October 31 (Hallowe'en). is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Halloween (disambiguation). ...

The castle also holds the distinction for being the site of the first concrete evidence of condoms and their use.^[2]

The maps of Christopher Saxton drawn in 1579 and John Speed in 1610, mark Dudley Castle in the County of Staffordshire not Worcestershire.^[3] Christopher Saxton was born in Yorkshire around 1540. ... John Speed (1542-1629) was a historian, now best remembered as the cartographer whose maps of English counties are often found framed in homes throughout the UK. He was born at Farndon in Cheshire, and went into his fathers tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50...

Visitor centre

The castle visitor centre was opened by 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 here.Archive A virtual tour (or virtual reality tour) is virtual reality simulation of an actually existing location, usually comprising 2D panoramic images, a sequence of hyperlinked still or video images, and/or image-based models of the real location, as well as other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration...

References

1. ^ Himley House Hotel
2. ^ A History of birth control methods.^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Richardson, Eric, The Black Country as Seen through Antique Maps, The Black Country Society, 2000. ISBN 0904015602

External links

• Dudley Zoo and Castle
• Aerial photo of Dudley Castle. Other map and aerial photo sources.

Coordinates: 52°30′52″N 2°04′48″W / 52.5143, -2.0800 Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...