Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery was the first municipal art gallery in the country outside London, opening its doors to the public for the first time in July 1878. Standing high on Castle Rock overlooking the City, the site is visited by over 270,000 visitors each year, a number that includes school children, families, academics and local tourists. Many of these visitors question where the Castle is, as they expect to find a traditional and romantic English castle and are therefore a little confused when they instead find the first Duke of Newcastle’s Ducal Palace. However, the prospect house that remains is as precious as any historic structure in the country and is unique and enchanting in its own right. The building is therefore protected by Grade One listed status, whilst Castle Rock and the cave system within it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The Castle’s History

1067 - William the Conqueror builds the first Castle on the site, a wooden structure built upon the vantage point of the Castle rock.~

1170 - The Castle is rebuilt in stone by Henry II. It is now the principal royal fortress in the Midlands.

1194 - Richard The Lionheart reclaims Nottingham Castle from his brother John using siege tactics. This is the only time in the Castle’s history that an occupier is defeated in such a way.

1330 - Roger Mortimer, lover of Queen Isabella, is captured by supporters of her son, King Edward III who enter the castle through a tunnel cut through the rock. The cave is known as Mortimer's Hole to this day and is a favourite spot with visitors.

1485 - Richard III leaves Nottingham Castle to ride to Bosworth where he dies in battle at the hands of Henry Tudor who claims the throne, becoming Henry VII.

1622 - James I sells Nottingham Castle to the Earl of Rutland.

1642 - Charles I raises his standard outside the castle walls, here beginning the Civil War. Ironically for most of the war the site is held by the opposing parliamentary forces under the command of Colonel Hutchinson.

1651 - Permission is given for Hutchinson to demolish Nottingham Castle.

1663 - William Cavendish, First Duke of Newcastle ,purchases the site.  He begins work on a prospect house high on Castle Rock but dies before its completion. His son completes the work on this unique building in 1678.

1831 - The building is attacked and looted by rioters following the Duke of Newcastle’s opposition to parliamentary reform.  The Ducal Palace is gutted internally when arsonists vent their anger at the Duke.  As a silent rebuke to the people of Nottingham the Duke leaves the ruined building unrepaired for 45 years.

1875 - Thomas Chambers Hine, a local architect, is appointed to adapt the Castle into a building suitable for use as a museum and art gallery.  

1878 - Nottingham Castle is opened by the Prince of Wales who later becomes Edward VII. Nottingham celebrates the first municipal museum and art gallery outside London.