WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:05.839 Recorded on location. In September twenty twenty five, I was 2 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.560 lucky enough to interview Amy, the paranormal host and historian 3 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:13.519 at Dudley Castle. This interview explores the castle's long and 4 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:18.519 often brutal history, uncovering the surprising connections between Dudley Castle 5 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:21.480 and some of the most colorful and at times bloody 6 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:25.559 periods in British history. We also delve deep into the 7 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:30.039 ghostly encounters and paranormal events which have solidified Dudley Castle 8 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:33.399 as being one of the most haunted locations in Great Britain. 9 00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:37.200 Now this interview ended up being so rich that it's 10 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:41.119 been split into three parts. In Part one, we focus 11 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:43.679 on the history and the people who once lived within 12 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:47.479 these walls and walked these beautiful grounds, and we wet 13 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:50.399 your appetite with a few ghostly tales along the way. 14 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:54.759 In Part two, we dive much deeper into the ghosts, 15 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.960 legends and strange happenings associated with the castle. And in 16 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.320 Part three, Amy takes me out on location around the 17 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:06.200 castle and its grounds, visiting some of the remarkable places 18 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:10.799 where spirits and ghosts are said to rome. So join 19 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:14.719 me now for Part one of my return to Dudley Castle. 20 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:19.479 A huge welcome from the shadowed heart of the Black Country, 21 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.960 where stone remembers and silent speaks. We're honored to be 22 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:27.039 here at Dudley Castle, an ancient fortress packed with sorrow, legend, 23 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:31.639 and lingering spirits. This place is no stranger to the uncanny. 24 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.520 The mournful gray lady, believed to be Dorothy Bowmont, wanders 25 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:39.439 the chapel ruins, denied her final wishes and bound by grief. 26 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:43.280 The phantom cavalier patrols the battlements, his plumed helmet and 27 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.080 ghostly presence of relic of the Civil War, And in 28 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:49.680 the quietest corners, the cries of the screaming child echo 29 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:53.280 through time, chilling the bones of even the bravest of souls. 30 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:56.719 I'm here today with Amy Hickman, who has been incredibly 31 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.599 kind to help organize this amazing opportunity for the show. 32 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.039 Amy is Dudley Castle's resident historian and seasoned paranormal host 33 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:07.360 who have spent many years exploring the secrets of this 34 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:12.280 incredible site. Together, we'll be talking about the castle's dramatic past, 35 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:15.479 the spirits that may still walk its grounds, and what 36 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:18.960 lies behind some of these lockdoors which the public never 37 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:22.599 gets to see. We've also recently launched Haunted UK Fiction, 38 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:26.960 a podcast for original fictional, paranormal and supernatural tales, perfect 39 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.479 for stories born in places like Dudley Castle, where every 40 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.560 stone has a secret. So whether you're a believer, a skeptic, 41 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:35.960 or simply drawn to the mystery, we invite you to 42 00:03:36.039 --> 00:03:39.560 listen closely because here in the ruins of Dudley Castle, 43 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:44.240 the past never sleeps and the spirits are always listening. 44 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.919 Thank you so much for welcoming us here today, Amy. 45 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.879 We find ourselves based in the incredibly impressive undercroft, and 46 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:55.400 with us we have two stone We have two stone 47 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:58.120 coffins to keep us company. So I'd like to start 48 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:01.080 off by asking you, for those who are unfamiliar with 49 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:04.960 Dudley Castle, can you walk us through its origin story, 50 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:08.439 when it was built and what was its original purpose? 51 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:11.759 Okay, so we believe that he was built around ten 52 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:14.840 seventy ten seventy one. So you're going back to the 53 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:19.959 Norman conquest in ten sixty six and William the Conqueror 54 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.920 comes over to England. He conquers England but not Wales 55 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:25.959 or Scotland, so he puts the steel ring around the 56 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:32.399 court the country to protect it from invasions. Dudley Castle 57 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:36.720 is part of that chain that was actually put round. Originally, 58 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:41.160 he sort of left Saxons in charge and the guy 59 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:44.279 that had this area was called Edwin and Mercier, and 60 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:47.199 he left them in charge. As long as they swore 61 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:52.920 felty to him, they could keep the lands, keep the grounds. Unfortunately, 62 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:55.720 Edwin got it into his head that he's going to 63 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:59.639 marry one of William the Conqueror's daughters. And basically William 64 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:03.920 the conker like, you're not marrying a daughter, so he rebelled. 65 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:09.199 Edwin rebelled against William and was murdered by his own 66 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:14.399 supporters as he was trying to leave for Scotland. Dudley 67 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:17.680 as the part of Mercy. The grounds were taken and 68 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:22.480 divided up between william supporters and he sort of cut 69 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:26.759 this part off because originally this part of Dudley would 70 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:30.439 have been in wood Seton and Sedgeley, and he cut 71 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.759 this end off and gave it to one of his 72 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:38.040 most trusted knights, who was Hanscorffed of Pickiney, who took 73 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:41.519 part in the Battle of Eistings, and he'd got also 74 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:44.959 given him another eighty manners of land throughout the country, 75 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:47.839 and he basically said to Hanscorf, right, you've got a 76 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:50.160 nice big ill there, build your castle there. 77 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.920 And that's why he did right fantastic. 78 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:57.639 What major historical events have unfolded within or around the 79 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:01.240 castle and has it ever seen in conflict and scene? 80 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:06.519 It has, firstly in the eleven hundreds part of the 81 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:11.560 anarchy which is th all between King Stephen and Empress Matilda. 82 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:15.759 Empress Matilda was the daughter of Henry. The first he 83 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:20.199 passed away, he'd asked his supporters to swear failty to 84 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:24.920 her and they did. Unfortunately, she was a lady. They 85 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:29.360 didn't want a lady on the throne, so his nephew, 86 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:34.600 Stephen of Bulloy, he actually took the throne and there 87 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:37.639 was a big civil war in the country. Dudley Castle 88 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:41.959 stood for Empress Matilda, as well as most of the houses, 89 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:45.879 most of the big places around the Midlands they stood 90 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:50.319 for Empress Matilda. King Stephen did come to Dudley with 91 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:54.720 his whole army to attack the castle. Castle was probably 92 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:57.720 one of the first that was already being refortified into 93 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:02.199 stone in the country. He attacked the castle, couldn't get in, 94 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.720 got a bit knocked went and burnt the town down 95 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.560 and stolen the cattle, marched off to Shrewsbury and burnt 96 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.160 Shrewsbury Castle down. That's how we know that this was 97 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:17.199 probably been refortified into stone, because if he's burning Shrewsbury, 98 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:20.279 we couldn't burn this chance. Sorry, it was a stone 99 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:24.600 castle by them. And also there was two sieges during 100 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:28.199 the English Civil War, so Dudley Castle was a Royalist castle. 101 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:31.680 The barons and the earls have always been quite loyal 102 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:35.600 to the Crown, well most of them have been quite 103 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:39.600 loyal to the cow But we stood for Charles the first. 104 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:43.079 After the English Civil War, any castle that had stood 105 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:46.519 for the Royalists had to be knocked down. Dudley was 106 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:52.399 part of that. Gentlemen we actually surrendered to was General Beretton. 107 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:55.800 He actually wrote to Cromwell and said, Dudley Castle's really strong. 108 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:57.399 Dow'nknock it down. We can use it. 109 00:07:57.639 --> 00:07:58.079 Yeah. 110 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:00.839 Cromwell was like, now he's got to go. He wrote 111 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:05.800 actually twice, possibly three times to Cromwell to try and 112 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:10.079 save dudleyy. But Cromwell's adamant he gotta go. We got 113 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.240 away with quite a lot because they only took the 114 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:15.720 two first terrors there and some of the outer walls 115 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:18.959 and a few bits of the gate. After that, it 116 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:21.639 was like, you can never be refortified, and that's still 117 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:24.079 true today. He can't out of Parliament. 118 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:25.199 That's fascinating. 119 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:29.560 It can't be refortified. And he sort of like said, well, 120 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:33.559 we'll just leave it, and left it at that. Burritton 121 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:36.639 actually was trying to marry two of his daughters into 122 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:40.480 the Ward family who owned the castle. So the theory is, 123 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:43.879 you don't want to knock down eat in Law's house 124 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:47.000 if you can help it, So that's sort of that's 125 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:52.360 why he wanted to keep it. But there was two sieges. 126 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:56.440 The first siege was alleviated by a troop same by 127 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:59.360 Charles the first because he thought I lived Dudley Castle. 128 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:02.720 It was actually relieved by the troop of four thousand 129 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:07.960 soldiers led by Prince Rupert. And the second siege we 130 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:11.840 surrendered because the cause was lost, so as our troops 131 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:15.120 walked out. But Dudley Castle has never been took in 132 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:18.360 a battle. It's never it's never lost in a battle. 133 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:21.639 It's never been took. It's too strong. That's fantastic of 134 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:22.320 the height. 135 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:26.559 I am going to veer off question for a minute, 136 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:29.679 because I've been chatting away to Amy for quite a 137 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:33.279 while as we've been setting up and in this wonderfully 138 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:39.240 impressive part of the castle, and you mentioned something really 139 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:44.080 fascinating to me about back then, hundreds and hundreds of 140 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:48.399 years ago, it was always the male line that carried 141 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:51.360 that carried power, that carried it through. You were telling 142 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:54.399 me about Dudley was really really specially in that sense 143 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:57.120 because it was it was more of a female line 144 00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:57.960 that brought the power. 145 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:02.600 Okay, So the ladies of the castle were quite powerful ladies. 146 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:08.279 Trevis Pagnell started it marrying quite powerful women the trend 147 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:13.159 of marriage when he married Isabella Beaumont, who was the 148 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.480 daughter of the Earl of Paris. So she was quite 149 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:21.120 a big powerful figure herself. She'd been previously married and 150 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:25.360 he was chosen to be her second husband, right, Okay, 151 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:29.120 I mean she was really powerful and she would have 152 00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:35.279 had links to the crown. Later on, there was an 153 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:41.639 Isabella did Shelton who married into the family. She married 154 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:46.440 one of the Suttons. She then took the baronet for 155 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:50.480 thirty seven years and ruled it on her own. She 156 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:53.679 married a second time once her husband had died, but 157 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:56.919 she kept the baron Ray through her son and her grandson. 158 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:00.279 And it was her great grandson, John Sutton the Sis 159 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:04.080 that actually took the baron Ray when she passed away. 160 00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:10.320 So really yeah, yeah, I mean John did. When John 161 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:16.960 dis Summery's father, Doyed Roger the Lady, his wife Agnes 162 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:21.279 actually became the baroness. And because John was underaged to 163 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:23.799 take the baron Ray, so she kept it till her 164 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:27.159 son was of age. Yea, And I mean Isabella just 165 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.080 kept it. She was like, now, but he's having it 166 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:32.519 on keeping it. It's mining Yeah, And she actually kept 167 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:37.120 him and her husband actually changed his name to Dudley. 168 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:39.799 He was actually probably one of the Fisher family, which 169 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:42.720 was a big family in the area, but he changed 170 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:47.879 his name to Dudley rather than her changed her name. Yeah, 171 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:51.960 and Dudley you could it was you could inherit it 172 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.879 through the female line as well. So Francis Sutton, he 173 00:11:57.080 --> 00:12:02.879 was the granddaughter of Edward Sutton. She inherited the baron Ray. 174 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:06.200 She later married a Ward and that's how the family 175 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.200 come into the Ward family. But it's the women that 176 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:10.000 were painful. 177 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:12.279 Wow. I just found that I found that was just 178 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:16.759 really really intriguing, especially for that kind of time. We 179 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.799 heard a load of a lot of figures you've just mentioned, 180 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:22.440 But who were some of the most influential figures in 181 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:23.480 the castle's history. 182 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:27.960 Well, obviously Anscoff was probably one of the most influential 183 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:31.399 figures because he built the first castle, even built a 184 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:35.159 modern bailey castle here, and we've still retained the shape 185 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:41.200 coming down through the generation. She've got people like John 186 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:45.720 Sutton the six, who is quite an un unrecognized figure. 187 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:49.559 He was a fantastic politician. He was house steward for 188 00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:52.120 Henry the Fifth. He brought Henry the fifth body back 189 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:56.799 from France when Emory the fifth died. He was in 190 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:58.919 charge of the terror. He was comfortable with the terror 191 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:04.120 London at the age of eighty seven. He was eighty six. 192 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:07.159 He died. He died when he was eighty seven. So 193 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:12.000 he was one of our longest serving baron. And he's 194 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:18.720 such an underrated figure technically terrible soldier. Every time he 195 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:22.000 went on a battlefield he got caught or injured, but 196 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:25.759 he knew how to change. He knew how to change 197 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:28.840 when it was and how to go with the flow. 198 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:33.120 Because he started off as a Lancastrian, became a Yorkist, 199 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:35.879 went back to the Lancastria, became a Yorkist, and then 200 00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:39.279 went back to the Lancastrians. He's probably the only figure 201 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:42.200 in history that had a pension from both Richard the 202 00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:48.320 third and Henry the seventh. He was a really good politician. Yeah, 203 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:54.200 but he's an unrecognized figure. And then, of course the 204 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:57.480 main figure was John Dudley, Duke, and also Blong, who 205 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:02.320 sort of put Lady Giant Ray on the throne. He 206 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:06.120 was probably our most influential baron ever because he was 207 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:08.919 in charge of the country. He was looking after the 208 00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:12.840 country for Edward the six, the boy king after the death, 209 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:18.279 and obviously he had a major influence on Dudley. It 210 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:20.759 shouldn't have had the castle in all hones stay because 211 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:23.960 he sort of condi his cousin. He arranged a couple 212 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.799 of mortgages on the castle, and then his cousin, who 213 00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:30.440 was bad with money, said on pie. He was like, 214 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.919 you go, I'm taking the castle. And he took the castle, 215 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:38.039 and he started a program of rebuilding because he wanted 216 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:41.759 to make it more of a palace than an actual castle, 217 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:44.360 and he built the bottom end of the castle which 218 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:47.120 we now today is that the Sharrington Range, But he 219 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:53.039 actually called the new build and he was just about 220 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:56.120 to change the chapel upstairs. He started to convert the 221 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:00.320 chapel from a Catholic chapel to a president chapel. When 222 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:04.799 he fell from power and was executed in fifteen fifty three. 223 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:05.679 Wow. 224 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:10.320 Okay, but he was probably our most influential baron and 225 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:12.679 probably one most people will know because they know the 226 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:13.919 story of Lady Jane Green. 227 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:19.879 Yeah, you mentioned the Sharrrington Ranch. Ye, the castle suffered 228 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:23.000 a devastating fire in seventeen hundreds, didn't it. How much 229 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:27.240 of the original structure remains to die? And what do 230 00:15:27.320 --> 00:15:29.320 we know about what was lost there? 231 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:34.879 To be fair, we have, like I said to you before, 232 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:40.240 before before you get to the fire, you had the slighting. Yeah, 233 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.559 the very first castle, which was the Motte and Bailey. 234 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:45.720 The only thing that remained is that reminds is the 235 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:49.919 mott the man where the keep stands. That's all that's 236 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.120 left from there. But that what would have been twelve 237 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:54.039 feet ohier than it is to die. 238 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:13.080 Just to cut in there. So the original matt. As 239 00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:16.519 I was walking up to the castle, you've got animals 240 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:20.720 grazing on them on the actual mat and would that would. 241 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:24.440 Be perfectly natural, That would be perfectly natural. There was 242 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:29.159 probably animals. There've been definitely animals in the courtyard because 243 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:31.600 in ten eighty six we were in the Doomsday Book. 244 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:34.919 This is one of the first castles to be named 245 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:38.440 in the Doomsday Book, and we know there was things 246 00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:41.000 in the courtyard, and we know there was probably animals, 247 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:45.840 So there would have been animals more than lightly grazes 248 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:50.000 on the bank. But when they took the wooden castle 249 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:53.080 down to make the stonecastle. To put the stone castle up, 250 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:55.919 they had to take twelve feet off the top wow 251 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.600 of the bank to take the way to the stone. 252 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:04.079 So if you're thinking Dudley Castle was twelve feet higher 253 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.599 than it is, really to die a lot of what 254 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:10.799 you say, I mean the slighting took away quite a lot. 255 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:14.039 It took away the first two terrors. It took a 256 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:16.880 right parts of the Triple Guy. Why it took away 257 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.759 a building that was next to this one, because this 258 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:22.640 one was quite a secretive room. And the doorway where 259 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:24.920 we came in wouldn't have been there'd have been a 260 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:27.640 straight run wall. You'd have come through the bat there's 261 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:29.559 an arch would have been an arch in the back, 262 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:33.000 and you'd have come straight there from upstairs, which is 263 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:35.920 the chapel. This is why this was more than likely 264 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:37.240 the crypt of the castle. 265 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:39.400 Really yeah, okay. 266 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:47.200 The foire basically devastated the Sharrington Range and the chapel upstairs. 267 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.799 You can see outside the big chapel window when we 268 00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:53.079 did the archaeology digs that we did in the eighties 269 00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:56.400 and nineties, that did flow in the glass from the 270 00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:01.599 window upstairs, and it was he had the coat of 271 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:05.680 arms of the Summary family on it. Because some but 272 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:11.000 one piece more or less back together they managed to 273 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:15.319 give peace to all back together. He devastated that. He devastated, 274 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.599 Like said, the Sharrington Range. The fire did a lot 275 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:22.039 of damage, but it was only confined down here. It 276 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:25.079 was nothing to do with the keep. But there is 277 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:28.200 quite a lot of the original structure here. There is 278 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:34.599 because there Sharrington Range would have been built on on 279 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:40.559 the same layout as the original Norman manor house that 280 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:43.319 was here, because there was a manor house here. Because 281 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:48.799 Jovespadal had to knock down the keep his keep in 282 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:52.279 the eleven hundreds, because he took part in a rebellion. Yeah, 283 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:55.079 and it was for a hundred years there was just 284 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:57.559 a manor house on the site. So we know there 285 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:00.000 was a Norman manor house and one of them walls 286 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:04.240 in the Shannington Range is a recycled war and that's 287 00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:06.799 the dates from that original. 288 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:10.039 Right, Okay, So it was repurpose. 289 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:14.880 It was repurposed. It's in the butchery, so we know 290 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.799 that war is from the original Norman manor house. So 291 00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:22.400 although we did do a lot a lot of damage, 292 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:25.599 a lot of the structure is still here. 293 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:26.240 Okay. 294 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:31.240 So have there been any surprising archaeological finds on the grounds, artifacts, 295 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:35.680 human remains or structures that changed what we know about 296 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:41.119 the castle? I did also, and you addressed this for 297 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.640 me a little bit earlier. I also heard of rumor 298 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:47.279 that one of the world's first condoms was discovered here 299 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:50.000 and now is a muse It's now in a museum, 300 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:51.799 So is that true? 301 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:57.759 That is true? There is actually six six condoms for 302 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:02.599 we believe in the museum in and Amsterdam, and we 303 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:07.079 believe too maybe with the artifacts they had kept to 304 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:11.400 Timley haare right, So yeah that yeah, they were from 305 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:16.079 the Civil War era. So of sixteen hundred sixteen forty 306 00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:20.359 onwards and they were pigskin, pig intestine. 307 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:24.319 Intestine, okay, sense lovely, yeah, yeah, So. 308 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.920 What do we know about what was found any archaeological finds. 309 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.960 What we found a lot of animal bone, believe in 310 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:34.759 a lot of animal bones. The area that was excavating 311 00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:38.759 mainly was the keep and to the side which would 312 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:42.680 have been Dudley Castle. We've got the automoat, but there 313 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:48.240 was an internal moat right, so it cut the keep 314 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:52.359 off from the courtyard motes now been John Dudley had 315 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:55.359 the moat filled in. But when they did it, because 316 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:59.599 of how wet it was, it actually protected a lot 317 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:03.240 of they are facts that were found. So mostly it 318 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:07.400 was animal bone, so a lot of fallow deer. And 319 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:11.200 then when they did the when they did DNA testing 320 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:14.119 on the fallow deer bones, they found that the hours 321 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:17.599 came from the Baltics. Because what happened was fallow deer 322 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:24.440 were practically extinct in this country, the Saxon's etamore, believe 323 00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:27.920 it or not, the normals reintroduced them, but that brought 324 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:30.000 them from different parts of the country. And when we 325 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:34.319 like say ours mainly come from the Baltic Bulkans fainting, 326 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:38.519 So there was a lot of animal bones. They did 327 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:44.799 find a beautiful it was a beautiful like tough comb 328 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:48.720 and that would have been from the Shude era and 329 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:56.160 their rings and jewelry battlespurs things like that. No bodies, Unfortunately, 330 00:21:57.359 --> 00:22:01.279 I have heard though or recent they found out while 331 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:08.119 doing some research that in the nineteen twenties there was 332 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:11.720 an archaeology de got done and some of the artifacts 333 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:15.400 were shown as part of a fair that they had 334 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:18.519 in the castle grounds. And part of that fair would 335 00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:23.839 have been they showed a skull of a cavalier soldier 336 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:27.519 and in that school was founding the castle and actual 337 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:32.000 recorded in one of the British News Archive part of 338 00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:37.599 the papers, which was fantastic find. Unfortunately I can't find 339 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:41.079 the archaeology report right, which is what I'm trying to 340 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:41.880 do at the moment. 341 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:42.279 Yeah. 342 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:49.640 Again, being a historian, being rooted in the history of 343 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.200 not only the castle but Dudley as well, is there 344 00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:58.079 a particular period in this castle's history that you find 345 00:22:58.279 --> 00:22:59.400 especially fascinating? 346 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:04.119 I just think all fascinating. I mean you're coming from 347 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:07.599 because we think the one of the two reasons the 348 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.319 castle was actually built, he was there was possibly something 349 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:15.000 here already, so a lot of tall hill like this, 350 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:17.799 and he is in line with other hill thoughts, so 351 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:19.759 there could have been a hill fort here and it 352 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:23.279 was just so easy just to throw the castle up. 353 00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:27.200 But I just find it all really, I mean I 354 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:30.519 said to you earlier, think of who's walked across that 355 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:36.599 courtyard and list Emry the Second. You've got Emry the Second. 356 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.799 You've got Edward the Third. You've got Isabella quit the 357 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:44.200 she Wolf of Franz. You've got Roger Mortimer, her lover. 358 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:49.599 You've got John Dudley, You've got Elizabeth the First. Possibly 359 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:53.640 Robert Dudley quite quite possibly the Earl of Essex was 360 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.440 here because he was the step son of Robert Dudley. 361 00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:02.119 I mean, you've got all these figures that that courtyard. Yeah, 362 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:05.519 and that's not even thinking about John Dissummray, who was 363 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:10.240 a baron of Dudley. He was actually a close close 364 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:14.920 friend of Edward the Third, I mean Edward the Second, sorry, 365 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:17.839 and he was I mean this was his, this was 366 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:24.079 his castle. He completed the keep and everything. Just thinking 367 00:24:24.119 --> 00:24:26.920 of the people that have walked through that courtyard is 368 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:30.799 just it blows my mind. And if these stones could 369 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:34.880 actually talk. What they could tell you is unbelievable. 370 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:37.759 Well, we're going to get into about yeah, yeah, we're 371 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.240 going to get into about how these stones could talk 372 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:43.759 about the things that these stones are possibly had possibly 373 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:48.640 seen in the past. Another fascinating thing that you mentioned again, 374 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:52.359 as I said, Amy and myself have been we were 375 00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:54.480 chatting away for quite a while. And again something else 376 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:56.599 that you mentioned that was really interesting was as I 377 00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:59.000 was saying, as I was driving up here, I mentioned 378 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:02.599 the fact that, to imagine them, none of the houses, 379 00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:04.359 none of these buildings, all. 380 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:06.480 Of the trees that it would have would have. 381 00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:08.839 Been not here. You know, there would have been hundreds 382 00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:11.000 of years of these woodlands and forests that would have 383 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:14.039 probably surrounded this. And I've mentioned to you about I 384 00:25:14.039 --> 00:25:16.480 would have loved to have known how far away I 385 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:18.559 would have been driving up to the castle, how far 386 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:20.119 away they could have seen it. And you mentioned that 387 00:25:20.200 --> 00:25:22.799 this wasn't even the highest hill anywhere. 388 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:24.319 No, No, but that. 389 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:27.680 Comes back to what you said about a fascinating reason. 390 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:31.440 And I'm going to ask Amy to explains even though 391 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:34.640 it wasn't the highest hill, why it was chosen because 392 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:36.559 the highest hill was somewhere else. 393 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:40.680 Yeah, the highest, the highest hill is probably Sedgely he could, okay, 394 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:46.079 the two hills would have been next to each other. Yeah, 395 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:52.440 and William the Conqueror kept that side, he kept as 396 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:55.519 it was called. Okay, and he said, right there, you 397 00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:58.599 go build your castle on that hill. But the reason 398 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:02.759 possibly was there was there's a water source. We've got 399 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:06.519 the water source, so underneath here we have a limestone ridge. 400 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:11.400 Basically the castle's a limestone ridge. So we've got a 401 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:15.119