The Castle, Newcastle
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox military installation The Castle, Newcastle, or Newcastle Castle is a medieval fortification in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, built on the site of the fortress that gave the City of Newcastle its name. The most prominent remaining structures on the site are the Castle Keep (the castle's main fortified stone tower, pictured below right), and the Black Gate, its fortified gatehouse.
Use of the site for defensive purposes dates from Roman times, when it housed a fort and settlement called Pons Aelius (meaning 'bridge of (Publius) Aelius (Hadrianus)' - the Roman emperor Hadrian), guarding a bridge over the River Tyne. Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, in 1080 built a wooden motte-and-bailey-style castle on the site of the Roman fort. Curthose built this 'New Castle upon Tyne' after he returned south from a campaign against Malcolm III of Scotland. 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. Nothing remains above ground of the Roman fort or the original motte-and-bailey castle. The Keep is a Grade I listed building, and a scheduled monument.
The Castle Keep and Black Gate pre-date the construction of the Newcastle town wall, construction of which started around 1265, and did not include it. The site of the keep is in the centre of Newcastle and lies to the east of Newcastle station. The Template:Convert gap between the keep and the gatehouse is almost entirely filled by the railway viaduct that carries the East Coast Main Line from Newcastle to Scotland.
The keep and Black Gate are now managed by the Old Newcastle Project under the Heart of the City Partnership as one combined visitor attraction, "Newcastle Castle".
Early history
In the mid-2nd century, the Romans built the first bridge to cross the River Tyne at the place where Newcastle now stands. The bridge was called Pons Aelius or 'Bridge of Aelius', Aelius being the family name of the Emperor Hadrian, who instigated the building of Hadrian's Wall along the Tyne-Solway Gap.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The Romans built a fort to protect the river crossing which was at the foot of the Tyne Gorge. The fort was situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the new bridge.<ref name=harbottle1>Harbottle, p. 1</ref> Hadrian's Wall crossed from west to east just north of the Roman fort, somewhere between the two medieval stone monuments of Newcastle Castle and Newcastle Cathedral. It is thought likely that the Wall descended (or ascended) the sloping street called the Side,<ref>Digging Deeper: The origins of Newcastle and Gateshead (Tyne Bridge Publishing, 2011) by David Heslop and Zoë McAuley, p.40.</ref> just to the north of the Black Gate of the castle, described below.<ref name="newcastle-antiquaries.org.uk">Template:Cite web</ref>
At some unknown time in the Anglo-Saxon age, the site of Newcastle came to be known as Monkchester, suggesting a monastery at a location still unknown. In the late 7th century, a cemetery was established on the site of the Roman fort.<ref name=harbottle1/>
Norman castle
In 1080, the Norman king, William I, sent his eldest son, Robert Curthose, north to defend the kingdom against the Scots. After his campaign, he moved to Monkchester and began the building of a 'New Castle'.<ref name=":0" /> This was of the "motte-and-bailey" type of construction, a wooden tower on top of an earthen mound (motte), surrounded by a moat and wooden stockade (bailey).<ref name=harbottle2>Harbottle, p. 2</ref>
In 1095, Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, rose up against William Rufus and Rufus sent an army north to crush the revolt and to capture the castle.<ref name=":0" /> From then on the castle became crown property and was an important base from which the king could control the northern barons.<ref name=harbottle2/>
New stone castle
Not a trace of the tower or mound of the motte-and-bailey castle remains now. Henry II replaced it with a rectangular stone keep, commissioned in 1168, which was built between 1172 and 1177 at a cost of £1,144. A stone bailey, in the form of a triangle, replaced the previous wooden one. The master mason or architect, Maurice, also built Dover Castle. The great outer gateway to the castle, called 'the Black Gate', was built later, between 1247 and 1250, in the reign of Henry III.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the civil wars at the end of King John's reign, it was under the control of Philip of Oldcoates.<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
Additional protection to the castle was provided late in the 13th century when stone walls were constructed, with towers, to enclose the town. The safety provided by the town walls led to the neglect of the fabric of the castle. In 1589, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I the castle was described as being ruinous.<ref name=harbottle4>Harbottle, p. 4</ref> From the early 17th century onward, this situation was made worse by the construction of shops and houses on much of the site.<ref name=harbottle4/>
English Civil War
In 1643, during the English Civil War, the Royalist Mayor of Newcastle, Sir John Marley, repaired the keep and probably also refortified the castle. In 1644 the Scottish army crossed the border in support of the Parliamentarians and the Scottish troops besieged Newcastle for three months until the garrison surrendered. The town walls were extensively damaged and the final forces to surrender on 19 October 1644 did so from the Castle keep.<ref name=harbottle5>Harbottle, p. 5</ref>
During the 16th to the 18th century, the keep was used as a prison. By 1800, there were a large number of houses within the boundaries of the castle.<ref name=harbottle6>Harbottle, p. 6</ref>
Nineteenth century
In 1809, Newcastle Corporation bought the keep and provided it with a new roof and battlements.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition the private dwellings within the castle boundaries were demolished. The keep was restored in 1810, 1812 and 1848.<ref name=archive>Template:Cite web</ref> In the mid 19th century the arrival of the railway in Newcastle led to a large viaduct being constructed to the north of the keep, crossing the site of the castle. As a result, only the keep and the Black Gate now remain.<ref name=harbottle6/>
Twentieth century
The keep was restored between the 1960s and 1980s when crumbling outside stonework was replaced and the interior cleaned.<ref name=archive/>
The Black Gate
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The "Black Gate" was added to Newcastle Castle between 1247 and 1250, forming an additional barbican in front of the earlier north gate of the castle.<ref name="newcastle-antiquaries.org.uk"/> It consisted of two towers with a passage running between them. On either side of the passage was a vaulted guardroom. There was a drawbridge at the front (facing west) and another at the rear. There was also a portcullis which could be raised and lowered to seal the entrance passage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The original building would probably have had a flat roof, but in 1618 James I leased the gatehouse to a courtier, Alexander Stephenson. Stephenson substantially altered the gatehouse, rebuilding the upper floors. Stephenson then let the Black Gate out to various tenants, one of whom was a merchant, named Patrick Black. It was he who gave his name to the Black Gate.<ref name=harbottle21>Harbottle, p. 21</ref>
Eventually houses were built along both sides of the passageway, and one part of the building became a public house. By the early part of the nineteenth century, the Black Gate had become a slum tenement, housing up to sixty people.<ref name=harbottle21/>
The Black Gate was leased to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1880s, which extensively restored it between 1883 and 1885.<ref name="newcastle-antiquaries.org.uk"/> It was the Society that added the top floor and pitched roof. The Society had a museum and held regular meetings there until relatively recently; the Bagpipe Museum that was there was moved north to become the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum in 1987. The drawbridges to the front and rear of the Black Gate have been replaced by wooden footbridges.<ref name=harbottle21/>
Current building
The Keep is a Grade I listed building, and a scheduled monument. It is a roughly square building, measuring Template:Convert by Template:Convert and Template:Convert tall. The entrance leads via flights of stairs to the second floor and into the Great Hall, the largest room in the keep, measuring Template:Convert by Template:Convert. The Black Gate was approached via a drawbridge across a moat. A wooden bridge has replaced the drawbridge. The original gate had a portcullis, and the recesses where this fitted can still be seen. The keep is currently owned by Newcastle City Council and managed by the Heart of the City Partnership.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Castle Keep can be visited today. The keep is also notable in having the main East Coast railway line running through the centre of the grounds. In particular, the battlements offer fine views over the River Tyne quayside, the cathedral and Newcastle station. The castle is reputedly haunted, and has been subject to many paranormal investigations. It featured in an episode of Most Haunted.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Castle Keep and the Black Gate have recently been refurbished by the Heart of the City partnership, and reopened on 21 March 2015 as Newcastle Castle. In addition to improved accessibility via an external lift to the Black Gate, new additions include an education centre, reception/gift shop and museum room in the Black Gate and audio-visual installations in the Castle Keep, telling the story of the site and the people who have lived there over the centuries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Buildings and structures completed in 1177
- History of Newcastle upon Tyne
- Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne
- Grade I listed buildings in Tyne and Wear
- Grade I listed castles
- Castles in Tyne and Wear
- Scheduled monuments in Tyne and Wear
- History museums in Tyne and Wear
- Historic house museums in Tyne and Wear
- Museums in Newcastle upon Tyne
- Wars of the Three Kingdoms