How old is Nottingham castle?

Answer 1

The first castle was a wooden fortification built on the orders of William the Conqueror in 1067 (one year after the Battle of Hastings). There may have been an earlier Anglo-Saxon fort on the site but no evidence exists. It was later replaced by a stone structure during the 12th century. This was inhabited by nobles and Royalty until it was abandoned during Richard the Lionheart's crusade. The Sheriff of Nottingham occupied the abandoned castle at this point. Prince John's supporters took over the castle being besieged on Richards return from the Holy lands. The castle and the surrounding Sherwood and Barnsdale deer forests are the siting of the Robin Hood stories around this time. The castle was further expanded in the following centuries until artillery made castles such as these obsolete. Charles I raised his standard outside the castle but English civil war skirmishes reduced much of an already damaged castle to little more than a defensive position. The parliamentarians occupied it eventually and successfully defended it. It was raised to the ground after Charles's execution to prevent it being used again. After the restoration of the monarchy a ducal mansion was built on the site which later burnt down. It was later restored in the 19th century and this is the building on the site today acting as a museum with only some of the outer medieval fortifications showing.