Landmarks and treasures thumb|upright|Tower of St Mary Magdalene's Church The Market Place is the town's focal point. It includes The Queen's Head, one of the town's old pubs. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is a Grade I listed building notable for its tower and octagonal spire ( high), the tallest in the county for a church. It was heavily restored in the mid-19th century by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The reredos was added by Sir Ninian Comper. Newark Castle was built by the Trent by Alexander of Lincoln, the Bishop of Lincoln in 1123, who established it as a mint.Pettifer, pp. 148 and 201. Of the original Norman stronghold, the chief remains are the gate-house, a crypt and the tower at the south-west angle. King John died there on the night of 18 October 1216.Fryde, Greenway, Porter and Roy, p. 37.Warren, pp. 254–255. In the reign of Edward III it was being used as a state prison. In the English Civil War it was garrisoned for Charles I and endured three sieges. Its dismantling was begun in 1646, after the royalist surrender. The 16th-century Governor's House, named after Sir Richard Willis, Castle Governor in the English Civil War, is in Stodman Street. Now housing a bread shop and cafe, it is a Grade I listed building.
Landmarks and treasures thumb|upright|Tower of St Mary Magdalene's Church The Market Place is the town's focal point. It includes The Queen's Head, one of the town's old pubs. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is a Grade I listed building notable for its tower and octagonal spire ( high), the tallest in the county for a church. It was heavily restored in the mid-19th century by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The reredos was added by Sir Ninian Comper. Newark Castle was built by the Trent by Alexander of Lincoln, the Bishop of Lincoln in 1123, who established it as a mint.Pettifer, pp. 148 and 201. Of the original Norman stronghold, the chief remains are the gate-house, a crypt and the tower at the south-west angle. King John died there on the night of 18 October 1216.Fryde, Greenway, Porter and Roy, p. 37.Warren, pp 254–255. In the reign of Edward III it was being used as a state prison. In the English Civil War it was garrisoned for Charles I and endured three sieges. Its dismantling was begun in 1646, after the royalist surrender. The 16th-century Governor's House, named after Sir Richard Willis, Castle Governor in the English Civil War, is in Stodman Street. Now housing a bread shop and cafe, it is a Grade I listed building.