_Where to see castles in Norfolk

As a county that saw invasions by the Romans, Vikings, Anglo Saxons and Normans, it’s no wonder that Norfolk has a history of building fortifications to fend off opponents and strike fear into the conquered.

Norwich Castle

If you’re going to conquer and then let everyone know who’s the boss now, this is the way to go about it. Built as a Royal Palace 900 years on the order of William the Conqueror, the Normans made sure that Norwich Castle dominated the city skyline, as it does to this day. The castle proved to be William’s only one in East Anglia, which shows the importance of Norwich even then. 

The castle now hosts a fabulous museum and art collection. The refurbished Castle Keep, at a cost of £28m, reimagines it as the 12th century Royal Palace Reborn. If you think the castle exterior is in remarkably good condition for its age it’s because the Victorians re-clad it (but sssh, we don’t tell anyone that).

The castle is now the most accessible-friendly castle in the UK, with easy access to all five floors, including the battlements.

Visit the new Norwich Castle Keep

Castle Rising, near King’s Lynn

One of the largest, best preserved and most lavishly decorated keeps in England, surrounded by 20 acres of mighty earthworks, Castle Rising was started in 1138 by William d'Albini for his new wife, the widow of Henry I. In the 14th century it became the luxurious exile-place of Queen Isabella, widow (and alleged murderess) of Edward II.  Castle Rising comprises three baileys, each defended by large earthworks, covering a total area of 12 acres.

Castle Acre, near Swaffham

Founded after the Norman Conquest in the 1070s by William de Warenne, who was awarded the land by William the Conqueror. Although there is not much built stone left the earthworks are still very impressive and together with the priory and walled town, Castle Acre comprises one of the best examples of Norman estate planning in the country and still one of the largest and best-preserved monastic sites in England. It's looked after by English Heritage.

Thetford Castle

The Thetford Castle mound, one of largest man-made mounds in the country, comprises the remains of a Norman motte and bailey castle, built by William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, soon after the conquest of England, and dismantled in 1173. You can climb to the top for views of the town.

Also in the area are Thetford Warren Lodge, built to protect hunting parties from armed poachers, and Thetford Priory, burial place of the earls and dukes of Norfolk for 400 years.

Burgh Castle, near Great Yarmouth

The one castle in our collection that predates the Normans, Burgh Castle was built by the Romans to hold cavalry as a defence against Saxon marauders. Three of the rectangular shore fort’s four walls are still intact, the other having collapsed over time into the marshy Breydon Water. The site is open to the public – go along and imagine what the scene was like in Roman times, when the water in front of you was a giant estuary, three miles wide and galleys could sail all the way to the Roman town Venta Icenorum near Norwich. Great Yarmouth didn’t exist – it would take centuries for a sand spit to develop across estuary mouth that became the east coast’s most popular tourist resort.

Caister Castle

Caister Castle was built in 1432 for Sir John Fastolf (of Shakespeare’s Falstaff fame), who fought at Agincourt with Henry V with another Norfolk man Sir Thomas Erpingham, who led the Welsh archers (yes, Welsh!). The castle was built by way of ransom for a captured French knight and is one of the earliest buildings of importance in the country built of brick. The 90-foot tower remains intact and visitors can climb to the top for a magnificent view of the castle ruins and surrounding areas. The castle is home to the largest private collection of motor vehicles in Britain.

The castle suffered severe damage in 1469 when it was besieged and captured by the Duke of Norfolk, who claimed it after Fastolf’s intestate death, wresting it from the Paston family. The bulk of Sir John’s money went to endow Magdalen College in Oxford.

In Roman times there was a Saxon Shore fort here, corresponding with Burgh Castle on the other side of Breydon Water estuary. In fact, the Latin word 'castra' or 'ceaster' means fort or camp, and gives us both Caister and Chester.

Baconsthorpe Castle, near Holt

Visit the extensive ruins of Baconsthorpe Castle, near Holt, a moated and fortified 15th century manor house, that are a testament to the rise and fall of a prominent Norfolk family, the Heydons. Over 200 years, successive generations of this ambitious family built, then enlarged, and finally abandoned this castle. Sir John Heydon probably built the strong inner gatehouse during the turbulent Wars of the Roses period, and his son Sir Henry completed the fortified house. In more peaceful times, their descendants converted part of the property into a textile factory, and then added the turreted Elizabethan outer gateway, inhabited until 1920. It's looked after by English Heritage.

Oxburgh Hall

Not strictly a castle, but a wonderful stately home to explore... and very nice crenelations and moat, which all great castles have.

Sir Edmund Bedingfeld built Oxburgh Hall in 1482 and the family still has private apartments today, although the property is now looked after by the National Trust. The red brick used signified its residents were of high status and the moat gives it an air of impregnability. The crenelations nearly got the family in trouble. In medieval times only the king, in this case Edward IV, could give permission to have crenelations on buildings. Fortunately he said 'yes', albeit retrospectively.