Dudley Castle — perched on a volcanic plug in the West Midlands — was a Royalist stronghold controlling access through the Black Country. The industrial heartland around Dudley was important for iron production — cannon, shot, and sword blades were produced in the area, and control of the castle influenced who had access to these resources. Parliamentary forces maintained a lengthy investment of the castle until its surrender in 1646. The ruins of the Civil War-era fortifications are still visible within the later zoo.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
Research a location near Staffordshire