Newcastle Castle

About Newcastle Castle

Newcastle Castle is the fortress the city is named after, on a bluff above the Tyne that the Romans had already fortified as Pons Aelius in the mid second century. In 1080 Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, raised a timber motte-and-bailey here, the original New Castle. Henry II replaced it in stone between 1172 and 1177, the work carried out by the master mason Maurice at a recorded cost of £1,144. That great rectangular keep, roughly 62 by 56 feet and 81 feet tall, still stands and is both a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument. Henry III added the Black Gate, a twin-towered barbican with drawbridges and portcullis, between 1247 and 1250.

The castle later served as a prison, was besieged during the Civil War in 1643 and 1644, and by the nineteenth century had been hemmed in and partly cut through by the railway viaduct that still passes beside it. After restoration work the two surviving buildings were brought together and reopened in 2015 as a single attraction called Newcastle Castle. Visitors can climb through the chapel, garrison rooms and great hall of the keep to the roof, which gives one of the best panoramas in the city over the Tyne bridges, the Quayside and the cathedral. Interpretation, guided tours and evening events cover the Roman, Norman and later chapters of the site.

Featured in These Guides

Blog posts and guides that feature Newcastle Castle.

Best Wedding Venues in Newcastle City Centre

From the Civic Centre's ceremony rooms to a medieval friary, a Norman castle, Victorian railway hotels and a Stephenson locomotive works, the best licensed wedding venues in Newcastle city centre.

Family Activities in Newcastle City Centre

A practical, family-focused guide to things to do with children in Newcastle city centre, from the free council museums and galleries to hands-on science, indoor rainy-day venues and nearby green space.

The Best Photography Spots in Newcastle City Centre

A practical guide to the best places to take photos in Newcastle city centre, from the Tyne bridges and Quayside to Grainger Town, rooftop viewpoints, the Ouseburn and golden-hour timing.

Historic Trades and Crafts of Newcastle

Coal, keels, glass, pottery and the engines that changed the world. A guide to the trades and crafts that built Newcastle, and where to see their legacy today.

Interesting Facts About Newcastle

The castle that named the city, the first public room lit by electric light, a fair larger than Central Park and a vampire rabbit above a cathedral door: verified facts about Newcastle upon Tyne.

Newcastle on Screen: The City in Film and TV

From Get Carter to Our Friends in the North, Byker Grove to Vera, here is the Newcastle you have already seen on screen, and where to find the locations for yourself.

A Weekend in Newcastle City Centre: A 48-Hour Itinerary

How to spend a relaxed weekend in the middle of Newcastle, from Friday-night drinks on Grey Street to the Quayside bridges, city museums and a slow Sunday by the river.

Museums in Newcastle: A Guide to the City's Collections and Galleries

From free natural history and art galleries to the castle keep and the Ouseburn's tunnels and children's books, here is where to find Newcastle's museums and what each one suits.

Best Walks in and around Newcastle City Centre

From the Quayside and the Ouseburn to the Town Moor and the medieval walls, the best walks are all within reach of the middle of Newcastle without a car.

Rainy Day: Indoor Things to Do in Newcastle City Centre

A round-up of the best indoor attractions in Newcastle city centre for a wet day, from four free museums and galleries to bowling, crazy golf and the shops. Plenty to do without a coat.

Corporate Christmas Party Venues in Newcastle

Newcastle city centre sells a Christmas party two ways: a table at a shared party night, or exclusive hire of a whole room. A guide to the venues, who handles twenty and who handles three hundred, and how everybody gets home.

Lost Buildings of Newcastle: What Stood Where

A Georgian shopping arcade under a roundabout, two-thirds of a Dobson square under a shopping centre, a panopticon prison under an office block. Twelve buildings Newcastle no longer has, and the exact spot to stand to see where each one was.

Things to Do in Newcastle City Centre

A complete guide to the city centre: how it fits together, what to do with two hours or a full day, and where to go for museums, the Quayside, food, shopping, children, sport and the seasonal calendar.

A Grainger Town Heritage Walk: Newcastle's Georgian Heart

Newcastle's classical core was laid out in the 1830s and 1840s by Richard Grainger, John Dobson and John Clayton. This walking route links Grey Street, the Grainger Market and the Theatre Royal with the medieval castle that gave the city its name.

Family Days Out in Newcastle City Centre

Newcastle city centre packs five proper family attractions into a walkable square mile, from a museum of children's books to a medieval keep, with parks and a riverside walk to pair them with.

Free Things to Do in Newcastle City Centre

Newcastle has four free museums and galleries, a Grade I listed covered market, two miles of medieval town wall, a thousand acres of common land and a free organ recital every Monday. Here is what genuinely costs nothing, and what used to be free but is not any more.

Halloween in Newcastle City Centre

Halloween 2026 falls on the Saturday at the end of half-term. A free augmented-reality quest at the Great North Museum, ghost tours at Newcastle Castle, a spooky night at the Discovery Museum, the Tyneside's horror all-nighter and a full prom night at the Star and Shadow.

Past Events

Recent events connected to Newcastle Castle.