Viewed from the west bank of the River Trent Newark Castle looks very impressive, but if you cross the river and enter the park that surrounds the castle you discover that the walls are just a facade. Only one and a half sides of the castle remain, but that does include the oldest part of the castle, a large gatehouse.

The castle was built in 1133 by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and it remained a seat of the Bishops of Lincoln until 1547 when King Henry VIII took it for the Crown. During the Civil War the castle became an important Royalist garrison, holding out against three long sieges in 1643, 1644 and 1646. On 5 May 1646 King Charles I was captured at nearby Southwell and ordered Newark to surrender. The Parliamentarians then destroyed the castle.