- Type
- Castle
- Built
- 1172 · 12th century
- Site origins
- 1080 per Wikidata – an earlier stronghold or first mention
- Location
- England, United Kingdom
- Commissioned by
- Henry II of England
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 54.9688°, -1.6104°
History
In 1080 Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, returning from a campaign against King Malcolm III of Scotland, built a wooden castle on a mound here – the new castle that gave the city its name. He chose the site of the Roman fort of Pons Aelius, which guarded a bridge over the Tyne. In 1172–1177 Henry II replaced it with a stone keep, one of the key strongholds on the Scottish border. A barbican known as the Black Gate was added in 1247–1250. In the 1840s a railway viaduct was driven across the castle site, and it still separates the keep from the gate.
What to see
The keep survives intact: visitors see the great hall, a chapel with Norman arches, spiral stairs within the thickness of the walls and the well. The roof looks out over the Tyne, its famous bridges and the city centre. Across the tracks stands the Black Gate, which also houses part of the exhibition on the history of the castle and of Newcastle.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q7721569
Popularity: articles about this site in 17 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).