Siege of Nottingham Castle 1485

Who Fought

History & Significance

Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and occasional royal residence. In decline by the 16th century, the original castle, except for its walls and gates, was demolished after the English Civil War in 1651. The site occupies a commanding position on a natural promontory known as "Castle Rock" which dominates the city skyline, with cliffs 130 feet (40 m) high to the south and west.

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, started to build the mansion in the 1670s; it was completed by his son, the 2nd Duke of Newcastle. This ducal palace was burnt by rioters in 1831, then left as a ruin until renovated in the 1870s to house an art gallery and museum, which remain in use. Little of the original castle survives other than the gatehouse and parts of the ramparts, but sufficient portions remain to give an impression of the layout of the site.

The castle is owned by Nottingham City Council. After a £30 million restoration from 2018, the running of the site was undertaken by the independent charitable Nottingham Castle Trust, with a reopening on 21 June 2022. The castle closed again on 21 November 2022 when the trust went into liquidation owing the council £2.68 million, with all employees made redundant by the joint-administrators. The castle and grounds reopened to visitors on 26 June 2023.

The first Norman castle on Castle Rock was a wooden structure of a motte-and-bailey design, begun in 1068, two years after the Battle of Hastings, on the orders of William the Conqueror. This wooden structure was replaced by a far more defensible stone castle during the reign of King Henry II, of an imposing and complex architectural design, which eventually comprised an upper bailey at the highest point of the castle rock, a middle bailey to the north containing the main royal apartments, and a large outer bailey to the east.

For centuries, the castle served as one of the most important in England for nobles and royalty alike. In a strategic position due to its location near a crossing of the River Trent, it was also known as a place of leisure, being close to the royal hunting grounds at Tideswell, the "Kings Larder" in the Royal Forest of the Peak, and also close to the royal forests of Barnsdale and Sherwood. The castle also had its own deer park in the area immediately to the west, still known as The Park.

While King Richard I ("the Lionheart") was away on the Third Crusade, along with a great number of English noblemen, Nottingham Castle was occupied by supporters of Prince John, including the Sheriff of Nottingham. In the legends of Robin Hood, Nottingham Castle is the scene of the final showdown between the sheriff and the heroic outlaw.

The ground they fought on

The site of Siege of Nottingham Castle 1485 lies on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Siege of Nottingham Castle 1485

Caves at Drury Hill

Scheduled monument · ~0.5 mi

Caves at Drury Hill is a series of artificial rock-cut caves located in Nottinghamshire, England. The caves are carved into the sandstone bedrock and represent examples of medieval or post-medieval quarrying and habitation activity. Their precise dating and original purpose remain subjects of arc…

Enchufla Con Clave / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Castle

Scheduled monument · ~0.9 mi

Nottingham Castle is a medieval fortress situated on a prominent sandstone outcrop overlooking the town of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire. The castle was founded in 1068 by William the Conqueror and developed substantially during the medieval period, with its current principal structures dating fr…

Cosmicutencil / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons

Old Trent Bridge

Scheduled monument · ~0.9 mi

Old Trent Bridge is a medieval bridge crossing the River Trent at Nottingham, with origins dating to the twelfth century. The structure represents an important example of medieval river engineering and has undergone substantial rebuilding and repair across several centuries, most notably in the e…

John Sutton / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

St John Baptist's Church and graveyard, Colwick

Scheduled monument · ~1.2 mi

St John Baptist's Church at Colwick is a medieval parish church situated in Nottinghamshire, with origins likely dating to the twelfth or thirteenth century. The church and its associated graveyard form an important ecclesiastical monument reflecting the development of the local settlement and re…

Alan Murray-Rust / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Lenton Priory

Scheduled monument · ~1.9 mi

Lenton Priory is a ruined Cluniac priory situated in Nottinghamshire, founded in the late eleventh century as a dependency of the French mother house at Cluny. The priory became one of the most important religious houses in the East Midlands during the medieval period, acquiring substantial lands…

Garth Newton / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Moat and fishpond at Strelley, 240m SE of All Saints' Church

Scheduled monument · ~4.8 mi

The moat and fishpond at Strelley is a medieval earthwork located approximately 240 metres south-east of All Saints' Church in the village of Strelley, Nottinghamshire. The monument comprises a substantial moated enclosure associated with a fishpond, dating to the medieval period and likely conne…

Veggiebacon / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Other Medieval Battles

Battles near Siege of Nottingham Castle 1485

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• Nottingham Castle - Wikipedia · Wikipedia
• The Timeline of the Castle · Nottingham Castle
• Nottingham - Ricardian Places · Richard III Society