Buckenham Castle

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At Buckenham, Norfolk there are the remains of two castles:

[edit] 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.

[edit] New castle

In 1145 a new castle was built two miles to the north west of the site of the old castle. Today we can still see the remaining foundations of a circular stone keep - this is approximately 60 feet in diameter. The castle was demolished in 1649 by the owner Sir Philip Knyvet perhaps at the request of Parliament, leaving just the moat and the earth ramparts. The Knyvett family had moved here from their earlier seat at Southwick, Northamptonshire

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 in the village centre - this some 20 miles south-west of Norwich on the A11 and the B1077.