England · 12th century
Weeting Castle ranks #5,160 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #319 of the 360 mapped in England. Founded 1180, it is older than 78% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 763 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. The nearest day-trip guide is Cambridge (England), 45 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.
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.
Text adapted from “Weeting Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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