The most recognisable feature at Cardiff Castle is surely the impressive twelve-sided Keep, the finest example in Wales. This type is known as a ‘shell’ keep because its outer walls provided a protective shell for smaller buildings within.

The stone Keep was built in the early 12th Century by Robert Consul, Earl of Gloucester, replacing the timber defences of Robert Fitzhamon, Norman Lord of Glamorgan. For eight years it was the prison of Duke Robert of Normandy, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, until his death in 1134 at the age of 80 years.

Additions made in the 13th and 14th Century included a gatehouse with a stone staircase leading to the stone bridge which replaced the timber drawbridge across the moat. The gatehouse was later removed during landscaping in the 18th Century.

After nearly 1000 years, the Keep still commands the inner area of the castle and is an impressive sight on entering the grounds.

The artificial motte (or mound) on which the keep is built is 10.67m (over 35ft) high with a summit 33m in diameter. From the top of the Keep the panoramic views of the city are breath-taking and to the north you can see as far as Castell Coch.

There are approximately 50 steep stone steps leading to the Keep entrance and further steps to reach the viewing platform, but it’s worth the effort!

Over the years I have stayed in many hotels in Newcastle. I first encountered the Hotel Vermont in 2013 and, although on that occasion I only stayed there for one night I immediately fell in love with it. Now it is my choice of accommodation when I stay in Newcastle.

From the hotel website:

The Vermont Hotel offers a host of facilities and services designed to make your stay in Newcastle as enjoyable as possible.

If you are looking for a Newcastle Hotel then few hotels can boast a more enviable city centre postcode than the Vermont Hotel, for this imposing structure is located in the heart of the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, not only next to the Castle Keep and opposite the historic Moot Hall, but also just two minutes from Newcastle’s Central Station.

Combining old character in the form of 1930s grandeur with contemporary elegance and four-star luxury, the landmark building is your base from which to discover the many bars, shops and attractions of the town centre and wider area.

If you searched for hotel Newcastle and found us you will be pleased you did. Look outside your window and you will see such sights as the River Tyne, Millennium Bridge or stunning cathedral.

The chapel lies below the main entrance stairway. In the middle ages it could only be entered from the outside through a small door to the left of the stairs. The chapel consists of a small nave set at right angles to the chancel, and was partly restored by John Dobson in 1848. It is now entered from within the keep by a doorway cut through the medieval masonry.

The castle at Newcastle is situated on a steep sided promontory overlooking the River Tyne.

It is a naturally defensible site, which archaeological excavations show has been occupied for nearly 2000 years.  Flint flakes and a stone axe head hint at prehistoric activity, and the grooves left by early ploughs – ard marks – have been found in the clay subsoil.

From the mid-2^nd century until the beginning of the 5^th century a Roman fort – Pons Aelius – stood here, guarding the river crossing below.  The name refers to the Roman bridge (pons) across the River Tyne, and to its builder, the Emperor Hadrian, whose family name was Aelius.  The site of the bridge was probably close to the present Swing Bridge.

The castle keep as we see it today is the product of a number of restorations over the years:

Despite these changes the keep remains one of the best examples of its type in the country.  The names used for the rooms in the keep in the medieval period are unknown: those used today were given by antiquarians in the 19^th century.  The keep has been open as a ‘curiosity’ or visitor attraction since 1812*

*Information from Newcastle Castle guidebook (Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne).

In this photograph The Castle Keep is situated behind The Black Gate. The Castle Keep website has this to say about the keep:

The Castle Keep of Newcastle upon Tyne was built by Henry II between 1168-1178, it is one of the finest surviving examples of a Norman Keep in the country.

It stands within a site that also contains: an early motte and bailey castle built by Robert Curthose, the son of William the Conqueror: an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and a Roman Fort (Pons Aelius).

The Castle Keep is a Grade 1 listed building, a Scheduled Ancient monument, and is open to the public 361 days of the year as a heritage visitor attraction.