History of the castle

Dudley has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon 'Duddah's leah' which translates as 'woodland clearing owned, or lived in, by Duddah'. Duddah or Dud, depending on the version, is believed to be the Saxon lord behind the construction around 700AD, of a wooden castle on the site of today's ruinous remains.

In the nineteenth century Dudley was known as the Capital of the 'Black Country' in reference to the notorious smog that was an unhealthy by-product of the region's industrial revolution. Today that unofficial geographical boundary incorporates Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton and a population of two million.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough was formed in 1974 and includes the former county borough of Dudley and municipal borough of Halesowen and Stourbridge.

Castle and Priory
Until 1928 these came outside the boundaries of Dudley and were formerly in Staffordshire. As previously mentioned, it is believed a wooden castle was the first construct followed in the twelfth century by a more impressive castle of stone. The original barons were Norman: Fitz Ansculf and Paganel, and it was Gervase Paganel who founded the Cluniac Priory of St James around 1160-80 whose remains we see today. In the Middle Ages the Sutton family inherited the title and estate of Lord Dudley, hence the name change, and thereby setting in motion a number of historical connections. One relative Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was a particular favourite of Elizabeth I. And it was John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who besides overseeing the renovation of considerable portions of the castle, married his son Guildford to the teenage Lady Jane Grey in a bid to prevent Mary Tudor from becoming queen; this unwise move resulted in the young couples' beheading and also his own in 1553.

In 1575 Queen Elizabeth stayed at the castle, and in 1585 it was considered as a possible prison for Mary Queen of Scots. In 1647, during the English Civil War, Cromwell's army demolished the fortress; what remained of the living quarters was destroyed by fire in July of 1750.

Dudley Zoo
Opened in 1938, the zoo is set in fifty acres of parkland surrounding the remains of Dudley Castle. It is home to more than two hundred species and heads a prestigious conservation programme. Percy Shakespeare (1906-43) a local artist killed by a bomb during World War II, used the zoo as a subject for one of his most famous works: 'Bird Cage at the Zoo.'