NHER 3449 (Monument record) - Castle Acre Castle

The Castle was founded and built by William de Warenne who was granted the land shortly after the Norman Conquest. The Norman country house was converted into a keep c. AD 1140 and later in the 12th century became a shell keep. The remains of a 12th century gatehouse survives to the west with evidence of the draw bar for securing the gates and the slot for the portcullis. The late 11th century and 12th century remains of the castle are surrounded by very impressive earthworks including a motte with its own ditch at the northern end, rectangular bailey surrounded by a bank and ditch and the remains of a barbican enclosure to the east. The bailey is surrounded by high earthen banks and the imprint of the hall is visible in the centre.
See (S1) for further details.
S. Howard (NLA), 15 June 2010.

Norman motte and bailey castle and town defences, wrongly called a Roman fort in the past.
Original site of priory in 1089.
Scheduled site enlarged 1998.

1780.
Well excavated.

1782.
Keys found.

1851.
Pottery found, thought to be Roman but is more probably Late Saxon or medieval.

1959. Stray Find.
Found inside castle bailey:
1 prehistoric fragmentary chipped flint axehead. Donated to Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 1959.310). Information from (S12).
Although originally recorded as Neolithic this object was subsequently examined by R. Jacobi and re-identified as a Mesolithic tranchet adze. Information from (S13).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 7 August 2014.

1974 to 1982.
Full excavation of castle and trial trenches of town defences revealed a possible Late Saxon hall which was superceded by the castle.
The Hall stood on the motte, and was altered to form a rectangular keep but was never completed.
Motte was raised to form a shell keep.
Restoration in 17th century.
Finds included prehistoric sherds and flints, Roman, Middle Saxon and Late Saxon pottery as well as medieval.
Two limekilns excavated.
Post-medieval witchcraft deposit, with a human skull and the skeleton of a kitten.
See (S2) and (S3).

1985 to 1986.
Excavations outside east bailey by NAU.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2022.180).

1995.
Medieval sherd found.

1986.
Juvenile burial discovered by workmen digging post hole(s) within castle.
No details of location of find.
See report by [1] and in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 19 July 1999.

January 2000. Earthwork Survey.
Earthwork survey at 1:1000.
See report (S4) for further details and plan. Site included in (S9) and survey also noted in (S14).
B. Cushion (NLA), 8 February 2000.

2000.
Additional earthwork features noted.

For full details, photos and press cuttings see report in file.
See also (S9).
E. Rose (NLA), 9 February 2000.

September 2001. Watching brief on route of BT cable.
Two areas of rammed chalk, thought to be the foundations of post medieval buildings.
Tile, clazed red earthernware and nail.
A. Hutcheson (NLA), 3 October 2001.

2002. Section 17 Management Agreement.
See copy in office file.
Concluded with English Heritage.
H. Paterson (A&E), 4 April 2002.

2002.
Extensive scrub clearance and removal of rubbish deposited over decades has been undertaken under a Section 17 agreement concluded between owners and English Heritage.
The wet bank and ditch has been cleared of scrub by hand cutting.
Selective tree surgery will be carried out on east side in December.
New fencing erected at end and alongside churchyard.
H. Paterson (A&E), 3 April 2002.

August 2002. Watching brief on erection of 5 new interpretation panels.
No significant archaeological remains.
H. Paterson (A&E), August 2002.

(S5) examines the historical context of the castle, concluding that it represents a remarkable continuity of high status settlement across the Conquest years, with the new stone castle built on the site of Toki's manor house.
D. Gurney (NLA), 14 May 2003.

June 2007. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of excavation of five post-pits for information boards.
No archaeologically-significant deposits observed and no finds recovered.
See report (S21) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 21 July 2021 and 1 January 2024.

June 2008. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with installation of replacement information boards. The six post pit excavated revealed no archaeologically significant features or deposits and no finds were recovered.
See report (S16) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 29 June 2017.

November 2008. Watching Brief.
Five architectural fragments were recovered during repairs to a large erosion scar in the outer bailey mound. Four pieces were of Caen limestone and one was clunch. Tool marks are clearly visible on the Caen stone.
See report (S6) for more details. See also (S7). The results of this work are summarised in (S8).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2016.53).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 17 May 2019.

June 2009.
Five year Section 17 management agreement signed for town defences at Dyke Hills.
See (S10).
D. Robertson (HES), 25 September 2012.

March 2015.
Two three year Section 17 agreements signed. One covers repairs to medieval town wall; the other vegetation management on town defences at Dyke Hills.
See (S15).
D. Robertson (HES), 18 May 2015.

July 2015. Test Pit.
Excavation of test pit against medieval town wall in rear garden of Limekiln Cottage, Cuckstool Lane (TF 8189 1501).
This work demonstrated that the current sloping undercut at the exposed end of the masonry had been an existing feature for some time. A late post-medieval wall footing had been constructed partly below the undercut, right up to the present base of the medieval wall. This rough flint and mortar wall footing had probably related to structures that can be seen abutting the town wall on 19th-century maps. The medieval wall appeared to have been constructed on hard chalk. Although a possible chalk extraction pit was identified partly below the overhang this may relate to late 19th-century quarrying. The base of the wall at this location is now surrounded by a loose, well-mixed deposit containing fragments of 19th-century ceramic building material, along with much rubbish of probable mid-20th-century date – material likely to represent waste generated when a row of cottages to the east of Limekiln Cottage was demolished around 1950.
See report (S17) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 19 December 2022.

July 2019. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of small proposed development area north of Cuckstool Lane, adjacent to south-west corner of bailey (partly with Scheduled area).
Although one of the trenches potentially coincided with the bailey ditch the deep deposits encountered were felt to be more characteristic of a chalk pit or quarry. A fragment of post-medieval brick was also recovered from the primary fill of this feature. The only other remains encountered were a post-medieval pit and a flint cobble wall foundation that was probably of a similar age.
See report (S18) and NHER 65148 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 20 July 2021.

2 and 3 July 2022. Test Pits.
Details to follow.
See unpublished reports (S19) and (S20).
A. Beckham (HES), 21 November 2022.

Before 23 January 2025. Stray Find. [1].
Found on surface at [2]:
Mesolithic/Neolithic flint awl.
Information from PAS import.
P. Watkins (HES), 22 June 2025.