Welcome
to the Castle Keep, one of the principal heritage attractions in the Northeast!
To
begin our Virtual Tour, simply click onto any area of the plan (right)
and explore the Keep using the latest in computer technology. Throughout
the site you can also listen to extended audio commentaries on all aspects
of the Keep by clicking onto the play buttons provided.
Click
the play button above, for an audio
commentory
on the history of the Keep...
The city, or town as it was until 1882, got it's name from the ''new castle'' founded in 1080 by Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror. He chose for its site the Anglo-Saxon cemetery of the settlement of Monkchester. The cemetery was not, however, the earliest use of this area, the graves being found dug into the ruined walls and metalled roads of the Roman fort of Pons Aelius.
Curthose's castle consisted of a fortified enclosure, surrounded by a clay rampart, which was probably topped by a timber palisade, and an external ditch. This early castle was rebuilt in stone between 1168 -78 by Henry II.