Nottingham Castle

#140 Nottingham Castle
Nottinghamshire, England
1067-8 and 1170-5 plus, until demolition in 1651
This is NOT an official Lego site

While the first mention of Nottingham is in regard to the Danish Vikings in 868, it is not known if Castle Rock hosted a defensive structure before 1067-8, when William the Conqueror constructed a motte and bailey castle. In 1140 the castle was destroyed by fire when Nottingham came under attack from Robert of Gloucester. Between 1170 and 1175 King Henry II spent £900 transforming the rebuilt timber structure into a royal stone castle that may have included the Great Tower in the inner bailey. Nottingham Castle remained in the Crown's hands for several centuries, with successive monarchs spending lavishly on repairs and enlargements, until, in the mid-fifteenth century, it occupied all of Castle Rock and the surrounding area [see etching on the left]. In 1190 Henry II's son, Richard the Lionheart, left for the Third Crusade with Philip II of France and many others, including a large number of English noblemen. A neglected Nottingham Castle was occupied by the notorious High Sheriff of Nottingham William de Wendenal. The Sheriff aligned himself with Richard's brother, Prince John, and it is in this scenario that the hero outlaw Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men of Sherwood Forest became the source of many tales. That Sheriff of Nottingham disappeared from history upon the return of Richard I in March 1194 with seige machines from the Crusade at Jerusalem.

In 1327 Edward II sent his 14 year old son, accompanied by his wife Isabella of France, to pay homage at Aquitaine. Isabella conspired with Roger Mortimer and the Duke of Aquitaine to successfully overthrow Edward, and the teen became Edward III of England. Mortimer, now named the 1st Earl of March, was de facto ruler of England and quickly became highly unpopular due to avarice and unscrupulousness. In 1330 the now 17 year old king, with the aid of William Montagu and others, entered Nottingham by night through a secret tunnel under the castle and captured both Mortimer and his mother Isabella. Mortimer was hanged in the Tower of London a month later, and the queen exiled to Castle Rising [which see]. In 1485 Richard III rode into battle from Nottingham Castle, only to be killed at Bosworth by Henry Tudor, who subsequently became Henry VII. In 1622 a deteriorating Nottingham Castle was sold by King James I to the Earl of Rutland, but in just 20 years Charles I raised his standard outside the walls of Nottingham, beginning the Civil War. After the war Oliver Cromwell and his Parliamentarians ordered Nottingham Castle to be destroyed, which it was in 1651 - a sad end to one of the important castles in the history of England!


Nottingham Castle ~1190 as fortified by Henry II, father of Richard I and John	The castle about 1272 showing the additions of Henry III	Nottingham about 1389 following the additions by Edward III	The final castle ~1485 showing the building program of Edward IV


1617 Plan by Robert Smythson from The History of the King's Works, ii [Pl. 48]	The portion of the castle which I have built	Entrance(s) to the entirely man-made caves in Castle Rock [= Mortimer's Hole]

Photos of the Lego Model under construction in March 2013 This project has been aided immeasurably by the kind assistance of Gordon A. B. Young, City Archeologist of Nottingham, England. The chronologic castle plans and other info in part from "Nottingham Castle: A Place Full Royal" by Christopher Drage, who directed the 1976-1984 excavations at Nottingham Castle.

On March 17 the project is laid out in 7 sections. Three are to be the middle & upper wards...	Two will become Sherwood Forest and the other two a strip of the outer ward	On the fifth day Sherwood is ready for more trees, and soon a modest bridge will follow	On March 27 serious work is underway on the south end of Castle Rock

By the next day the sub- structure is mostly in place	On March 29 work begins on the remainder of Castle Rock	April arrives with the massive outcropping ready for a castle	So naturally work shifts to the middle ward gatehouse...

...with a nice area for the local knights to test their skills	On April 12 it's time to see what the upper bailey will eventually look like	Two days later the south and west ranges are taking shape	The curving east range presents the greatest challenge

But even the wannebee Prince John likes his new quarters	On April 18 construction moves on to the service quadrangle in the middle ward	The half-timber buildings are unwashed with natural wood - quite suitable for the staff	And by April 21 the west curtain wall between the donjon and gatehouse is complete

Photos of the Lego Model built in March through May 2013 This project was built for BrickWorld 2013, but the day it was to be driven to Chicago, I had emergency surgery for a detached retina instead. Nottingham Castle and Sherwood Forest never left my rec room.

SSW view of the completed project	The view from the ESE emphasizes Sherwood Forest	The general view of the model from the NNE	And a closer view of the inner ward & castle rock from the NNE

The view from the WNW shows more of the middle bailey	Here's a close-up of the gatehouse into the middle ward	The service wing in the middle ward from the south	Looking down on the small courtyard of the service quadrangle

The SSE view of the upper bailey, showing the entrances to both the inner castle and the donjon	The ENE view of the upper castle	The NW view with a flogging of one of Robin Hood's men	The ESE view featuring the quarters of the king [L] and queen [R]

A bit of tilting in a flat portion of the dry moat	Lots is happening in the little village near the middle ward gatehouse!	The pretty little bridge spanning the River Leen	Ho! It appears some Merry Men are robbing a treasure-filled coach

Meanwhile Robin and John Little aka Little John are having their bit of fun on a fallen log	While several Merry Men stalk the king's deer, Allan A'Dayle spins tales for the forest children	And Friar Tuck has discovered that a flagon of ale doesn't hinder his Biblical studies	The rest of the Merry Men are honing their archery skills

Prince John, the vicious Sheriff of Nottingham, and Sir Guy of Gisborn watch the flogging	While Robin's men plan the rescue of their stricken comrade!	The happy fisherman anticipates an imminent catch on the river- bank near Mortimer's Hole	Two lads join forces to rescue several apples from a neighbor's tree


North elevation	West elevation


South elevation	East elevation