Buckenham Castle

Old and New Buckenham Castle are two castles in the adjacent villages of Old Buckenham and New Buckenham, Norfolk.

Old castle
All that remains today of what was a Norman castle are the remnants of the earthworks and some traces of a stone curtain wall. The castle was built by William d’Albini, a follower of William the Conqueror. After the castle was moved to the new site a priory was established on the site thus destroying many of the earlier remains.

To service the castle and garrison, what is now New Buckenham was established and it is thought that it probably covered much the same area and grid layout as remains today.

New castle
In the early part of the reign of King Stephen a new castle was built two miles to the north west of the site of the old castle by the Aubigny family. Today we can still see the remaining foundations of a circular stone keep - this is approximately 60 feet in diameter. The castle was besieged during the Barons' War in 1263. The fortress was finally demolished in 1649 by the owner Sir Philip Knyvet, leaving just the moat and the earth ramparts.

The Knyvett family had moved here from their earlier seat at Southwick, Northamptonshire. By 1465 Sir John Knyvet occupied the castle. That year his daughter married Sir Henry Colet, later Lord Mayor of London.

The castle comprised an inner bailey and two outer baileys, all with earth walls. The circular keep is thought to be the earliest in England. Its walls are 11 feet thick at their base and it is thought that the height of the keep in its heyday could have been as much as 40 feet.

New Buckenham Castle is located on the edge of the village - this some 20 miles south-west of Norwich on the A11 and the B1077.

This site is a Grade I Listed building and a Scheduled Monument.

The key is available from Castle Hill Garage - There is a small admission charge.