The Castle, Newcastle

The Castle, Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle Castle Keep, with a railway viaduct behind at left
The Castle, Newcastle Shown within Tyne and Wear
Coordinates	54°58′08″N 1°36′38″W / 54.9688°N 1.6105°W / 54.9688; -1.6105
Type	Norman
Site history
Built	1177
Built by	Henry II

The Castle, Newcastle, or Newcastle Castle is a medieval fortification in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, built on the site of the fortress that gave the City of Newcastle its name. The most prominent remaining structures on the site are the Castle Keep (the castle's main fortified stone tower, pictured below right), and the Black Gate, its fortified gatehouse.

Use of the site for defensive purposes dates from Roman times, when it housed a fort and settlement called Pons Aelius (meaning 'bridge of (Publius) Aelius (Hadrianus)' - the Roman emperor Hadrian), guarding a bridge over the River Tyne. Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, in 1080 built a wooden motte and bailey style castle on the site of the Roman fort. Curthose built this 'New Castle upon Tyne' after he returned south from a campaign against Malcolm III of Scotland. Henry II built the stone Castle Keep between 1172 and 1177 on the site of Curthose's castle. Henry III added the Black Gate between 1247 and 1250. Nothing remains above ground of the Roman fort or the original motte and bailey castle. The Keep is a Grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The Castle Keep and Black Gate pre-date the construction of the Newcastle town wall, construction of which started around 1265, and did not include it. The site of the keep is in the centre of Newcastle and lies to the east of Newcastle station. The 75-foot (23 m) gap between the keep and the gatehouse is almost entirely filled by the railway viaduct that carries the East Coast Main Line from Newcastle to Scotland.

The keep and Black Gate are now managed by the Old Newcastle Project under the Heart of the City Partnership as one combined visitor attraction, "Newcastle Castle".