| Weeting Castle | |
|---|---|
| Weeting,Norfolk | |
 Remains of the chamber block | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Manor house |
| Controlled by | English Heritage |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Location | |
  Weeting Castle Shown withinNorfolk | |
| Coordinates | 52°28′16″N0°36′59″E / 52.4711°N 0.6163°E /52.4711; 0.6163 |
| Site history | |
| Built | c. 1180 |
| Materials | Flint |
Weeting Castle is a ruined, medievalmanor house near the village ofWeeting inNorfolk, England. It was built around 1180 by Hugh de Plais, and comprised a three-storey tower, a substantialhall, and a service block, with a separate kitchen positioned near the house. Amoat was later dug around the site in the 13th century. The house was not fortified, although it drew on architectural features typically found incastles of the period, and instead formed a very large, high-status domestic dwelling. It was probably intended to resemble the hall atCastle Acre Castle, owned by Hugh'sfeudal lord,Hamelin de Warenne.
Weeting Castle ceased to be used in the late 14th century and fell into decay. The ruins formed an ornamental feature in the grounds of nearbyWeeting Hall from 1770 onwards, and passed into the ownership of the state in 1926 when the government acquired the surrounding estate. The site is now managed byEnglish Heritage and open to visitors.
Weeting Castle is located around 750 metres (2,460 ft) north of the village ofWeeting inNorfolk, England.[1] There was an earlierAnglo-Saxon settlement at the site in the 10th century, but the castle itself was built around 1180 by Hugh de Plais.[2] Hugh acquired the estate following his marriage to Philippa Montfichet, where he then constructed a very large, stonemanor house.[3] The new building was probably intended to resemble thehall at the centre ofCastle Acre Castle, then being redeveloped by Hugh's feudal lord,Hamelin de Warenne, theEarl of Surrey.[4][nb 1]
Hugh's manor house was around 30 by 14 metres (98 by 46 ft) across and comprised three sections running south to north: a chamber block, the main hall, and a service wing.[6][nb 2] The chamber block, or tower, was three storeys tall, with thick walls made fromflint rubble andashlar.[8] The ground floor formed anundercroft, supporting asolar — a set of private chambers — above.[2] The chamber block would have been entered by an external staircase at the first floor, and an internalnewel staircase in the north-west corner linked the different floors.[9] Although not fortified, the tower drew on the architectural traditions of earlier castlekeeps and great towers.[10]
The two-storey tall hall was 14.7 by 12 metres (48 by 39 ft) in size internally, with two woodenarcades running down each side, forming narrow aisles along which benches would have run.[11] A raiseddais at the northern end, framed byblind stone arcading, would have supported the great table, with similar arcading facing it at the opposite end of the hall.[12] The hall was probably linked by doors to the service block to the north, which was 12 by 3.4 metres (39 by 11 ft) internally in size and contained apantry and abuttery.[13] A separate kitchen building stood beyond the service block, positioned across a small, enclosed courtyard to reduce the fire risk to the main building.[14]
A 10 metres (33 ft) widemoat was dug around the site in the mid-13th century, creating an island approximately 85 by 60 metres (279 by 197 ft) across internally, accessed by a bridge to the west.[6] The moat was not intended to actually defend the site, but would have aesthetically framed the view of the house within it for anyone approaching the property, highlighting the wealth of its owners.[15]
The male line of the Plais family died out in the late 14th century, and Weeting Castle passed to Sir John Howard, theEarl of Norfolk, through his marriage to Margaret Plais.[16] The manor house was left to fall into ruin, until in 1770 it became an ornamental feature in the grounds of the nearbyWeeting Hall, acountry house rebuilt byCharles Henry Coote, theEarl of Mountrath.[17]
In 1926, theMinistry of Labour purchased Weeting Hall for use as a residential work camp, and acquired Weeting Castle as part of the estate.[18] As part of their instruction, the trainees were deployed to clear the castle of undergrowth.[19] Weeting Hall was demolished in 1954, but itsice house still survives on the island, comprising a brick and earthen mound, around 16 metres (52 ft) across, which was originally used to store ice harvested from the moat.[20]
Archaeological excavations were undertaken at the site between 1964 and 1966 by theMinistry of Public Works, and the remaining stonework was consolidated.[1] Some of the rubble core of the chamber block and the hall survive today, along with fragments of the ashlar stone; parts of the service block's foundations have also survived, but nothing remains of the kitchen above ground.[21] The moat still partially floods in winter, and the site is now accessed by an earthcauseway in the north-west corner, possibly dating to the creation of the nearby hall in the 18th century.[22]
The castle is managed byEnglish Heritage and is open to visitors.[2] The historians Brian Cushion and Alan Davison consider the castle's design to form "a very fine example of an early medieval house", and the heritage agencyHistoric England notes that the site is "a rare surviving example of a high status 12th century manor house"; it is protected under UK law as ascheduled monument.[23]
