Dudley Castle is a place of contrasts. Once it was a place of activity amid the gentle countryside of Worcestershire, now it is a haven of peace amid the hustle and industry of the 'Black Country'. Once it stood as a proud fortification extolling the power of the Lords of Dudley, now it is a romantic ruin, a temple to the deprivations of time and weather (A Picture of a Moment in Time, Rob Birbeck).
Click on the photograph above and you will see two illustrations. The first shows Dudley Castle today, evidently in ruins but still dominating the town of Dudley. The second illustration is an eighteenth-century engraving of Dudley Castle. Legend has it that a wooden castle was built here in about 700 by a Saxon lord called Dud or Dado, and Dudley is one of the few castles mentioned in Domesday Book. It was the historical seat of the barons of Dudley, but had suffered a long period of neglect before being seen as a romantic ruin by artists and antiquarians in the late eighteenth century.
(Dudley, Britain in Old Photographs, H. Atkins et al, 1998)
Rollover the captions in the box to see the available images in thumbnail format, click the caption to see the full-size image
| Reference: | 538 |
| Keywords: | Ruin Fort Defence Royalty Lord Baron Saxon Dud Dado |
| Archive Ref: | A Picture of a Moment in Time (Birbeck) Dudley Britain in Old Photos H. Atkins et al. BCLM Library |
| Updated: | 6/9/2001 11:00:31 |