DUDLEY CASTLE

Worcestershire

Poor old Dudley Castle seems to end up in all sorts of different counties...West Midlands, Staffordshire, even sometimes Hereford and Worcester.  The truth of the matter is the town and Castle of Dudley are in a little piece of Worcestershire isolated like an island in Staffordshire, although all has since been swallowed by the "West Midlands" County created in 1974.

Dudley Castle has a long and proud heritage, stretching back to the first motte and bailey castle built by William FitzAnsculph before the Domesday Book. The stronghold was destroyed after Prince Henry's revolt, but a licence was obtained to crenellate in 1264 by Roger de Somery. He was taken prisoner soon after this, so the work was probably carried out by his son, the notorious robber baron Sir John de Somery. It is likely that much of the castle, the keep, curtain walls and gatehouse, were built by people blackmailed into doing so by Sir John. Sir John was said to be a giant whose coffin was removed from nearby Dudley Priory and it is now said his ghost walks the castle. In 2002 an examination of the coffin was made and it was discovered to be two coffins joined together – not that it stops the stories of Sir John’s ghost walking the walls.

After his death the Castle became the subject of local squabbles, leading to an unsuccessful siege in 1330. The Castle passed to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland who began to turn the Castle into a Tudor mansion.  However, after his attempt to put his niece, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne of England he was executed (in 1553) and his work was never completed (see also John Dudley's Castles at Framlingham, Astley and Kenilworth).

In 1644 the Castle was stormed by the Roundheads, but they failed to take the Castle and it only surrendered when the Royalist cause was lost.  The defences were slighted, but it remained a residence until a fire in 1750.

Sir John de Somery’s ghost is not alone at the castle; there are also ghosts of a Drummer boy from the Civil War, an old lady who hung herself from the ramparts after local youths killed her cat, a black cowled monk, and most famously Dorothy Beaumont who died during the Civil War siege but was buried at a church at the other end of town, far from her dead child who is buried at the church by the castle. Her ghost has often been seen searching for the baby’s resting place. During one of the recent ghost tours put on by the castle the audience were surprised to see a second grey lady standing watching behind the actress playing Dorothy Beaumont. Spooky!

Today the spectacular ruins sit in the centre of Dudley Zoo, a slightly surreal position for one of the West Midlands strongest Castles.

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2018