The castle surrendered before King Richard could use one of his last weapons, a giant trebuchet that would have pounded their defenses into rubble at great speed with heavy stones.

The siege of Nottingham Castle was a decisive historic battle in the civil war between King Richard I (Richard The Lionheart) and his brother Prince John. After his death, Henry II became king and added stone walls to Nottingham Castle’s wooden palisades as well as built many new buildings including “a house for the King’s falcons”.

The army of King Stephen army was defeated at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141. However, within 100 years of its construction civil war had broken out resulting in bloody battles including one at Nottingham where Matilda’s half brother Robert of Gloucester besieged it but could not take it so instead plundered the town before moving on to York which they were able to capture for Stephen who reclaimed power from Empress Maud as King Henry I under her watchful eye after being declared heir apparent and crowned king himself upon their father Duke Geoffrey’s death while she was imprisoned during this time. The castle was a wooden motte-and-bailey design with earthen banks topped by a timber palisade. In the years following the Norman conquest of William the Conqueror in 1066, William began asserting his control over England and built Nottingham Castle. It’s great battles against tyranny its bloody history, sieges to protect freedom principled stands to uphold justice – all in all, 1000 years worth! But the true story behind this venerable old building is just as exciting: it’s tales of Kings and Empresses, a prominent Lord or two, Governors, Dukes, and ordinary people like you. The castle site of Nottingham Castle today looks very different from its beginnings as a medieval castle, wooden motte-and-bailey fortification. Names such as Henry I, Henry II, Edward II, William the Conqueror, Henry VII, Oliver Cromwell, Henry III, and Queen Isabella will all get a mention so please read on and find out what else the castle’s history has to offer. So much so that he even has his own Robin Hood statue not far from the Castle Nottingham gates, but what really happened at Nottingham Castle?īelow we’ll take a look at all aspects of the history of the Castle, from the original Nottingham Castle beginning as a Medieval Castle, to the English civil war, touching upon the roles that the famous characters played in a brief history overview. Robin Hood has been a popular folklore character for centuries.

Nottingham castle