Weeting Castle

Ruined, medieval manor house in England

Weeting Castle is a ruined, medieval manor house near the village of Weeting in Norfolk, England. It was built around 1180 by Hugh de Plais, and comprised a three storey tower, a substantial hall, and a service block, with a separate kitchen positioned near the house. A moat was later dug around the site in the 13th century. The house was not fortified, although it drew on architectural features typically found in castles of the period, and instead formed a very large, high status domestic dwelling. It was probably intended to resemble the hall at Castle Acre Castle, owned by Hugh's feudal 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 nearby Weeting 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 by English Heritage and open to visitors.

Weeting Castle is located around north of the village of Weeting in Norfolk, England. There was an earlier Anglo Saxon settlement at the site in the 10th century, but the castle itself was built around 1180 by Hugh de Plais. Hugh acquired the estate following his marriage to Philippa Montfichet, where he then constructed a very large, stone manor house. The new building was probably intended to resemble the hall at the centre of Castle Acre Castle, then being redeveloped by Hugh's feudal lord, Hamelin de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey. Hugh's manor house was around across and comprised three sections running south to north: a chamber block, the main hall, and a service wing. The chamber block, or tower, was three storeys tall, with thick walls made from flint rubble and ashlar. The ground floor formed an undercroft, supporting a solar — a set of private chambers — above. Although not fortified, the tower drew on the architectural traditions of earlier castle keeps and great towers. The two storey tall hall was in size internally, with two wooden arcades running down each side, forming narrow aisles along which benches would have run. A raised dais at the northern end, framed by blind stone arcading, would have supported the great table, with similar arcading facing it at the opposite end of the hall. The hall was probably linked by doors to the service block to the north, which was internally in size and contained a pantry and a buttery. A separate kitchen building stood beyond the service block, positioned across a small, enclosed courtyard to reduce the fire risk to the main building. A wide moat was dug around the site in the mid 13th century, creating an island approximately across internally, accessed by a bridge to the west.

The male line of the Plais family died out in the late 14th century, and Weeting Castle passed to Sir John Howard, the Earl of Norfolk, through his marriage to Margaret Plais. The manor house was left to fall into ruin, until in 1770 it became an ornamental feature in the grounds of the nearby Weeting Hall, a country house rebuilt by Charles Henry Coote, the Earl of Mountrath. In 1926, the Ministry of Labour purchased Weeting Hall for use as a residential work camp, and acquired Weeting Castle as part of the estate. As part of their instruction, the trainees were deployed to clear the castle of undergrowth. Weeting Hall was demolished in 1954, but its ice house still survives on the island, comprising a brick and earthen mound, around across, which was originally used to store ice harvested from the moat. Archaeological excavations were undertaken at the site between 1964 and 1966 by the Ministry of Public Works, and the remaining stonework was consolidated. The moat still partially floods in winter, and the site is now accessed by an earth causeway in the north west corner, possibly dating to the creation of the nearby hall in the 18th century. The castle is managed by English Heritage and is open to visitors.