Mettingham Castle

Mettingham Castle
Mettingham, Suffolk

Gatehouse of Mettingham Castle
Mettingham Castle
Coordinates 52°26′41″N 1°28′17″E / 52.4448°N 1.4714°E / 52.4448; 1.4714
Type Fortified manor house
Site information
Owner Private
Open to
the public		 Yes, on selected days
Condition Ruined
Site history
Materials Stone

Mettingham Castle was a fortified manor house in the village of Mettingham, Suffolk, England.

Details

Mettingham Castle was formed by Sir John de Norwich, who was given a licence to crenellate his existing manor house on the site in 1342.[1] The first house stood within a small moat, up to 15 foot wide with 6 foot high banks; upon receiving permission to crenellate, however, he built another court to the north of this, again moated, with a gateway to the north.[2] Another moated court was later built to the south.[2] An Edwardian style gatehouse formed the entrance to the castle and supplemented a stone wall that surrounded the property.[3] By 1562, there were "stables, servants' lodgings, kitchen, bakehouse, brewhouse, malting house, storehouses, and an aisled hall" within the castle walls.[4]

A late 19th century plan of the castle

The castle remained in Sir John's family until 1394, when it was given to a college of secular canons from nearby Norton, who established themselves on the small moated court within the castle.[5] The monks taught up to 13 boys at the castle.[6] After the dissolution of the monasteries the property was sold off to a sequence of private owners after 1542.[1] The castle was largely demolished in the 18th century to make way for a new farm house on the site, which lasted until around 1880 when it was pulled down in turn; the house rebuilt on the site reused parts of the original medieval stonework.[7]

Today the site is a scheduled monument and a grade 2 listed building; the gatehouse still survives, as do some of the stone walls and many of the surrounding moats and earthworks.[8] In the 21st century a major renovation project occurred at the castle to repair the worsening damage, involving a grant of £330,000 by English Heritage.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Mackenzie, p.283.
  2. 1 2 Wall, p.621.
  3. ↑ Mackenzie, p.284; Mettingham Castle, National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Mettingham Castle, National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
  5. ↑ Mackenzie, p.283; Wall, p.621.
  6. 1 2 Mettingham Castle, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Mackenzie, p.285; Mettingham Castle, National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Mettingham Castle, Gatehouse website, accessed 18 July 2011.

Bibliography

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