Mettingham Castle

Mettingham Castle
Mettingham, Suffolk
Gatehouse of Mettingham Castle
Shown within Suffolk
Type	Fortified manor house
Coordinates	52°26′41″N 1°28′17″E / 52.4448°N 1.4714°E / 52.4448; 1.4714Coordinates: 52°26′41″N 1°28′17″E / 52.4448°N 1.4714°E / 52.4448; 1.4714 grid reference TM359886
Construction materials	Stone
Current condition	Ruined
Current owner	Private
Open to the public	Yes, on selected days

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 license 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, another court was built 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9] 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

• Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
• List of castles in England

References

1. ^ Mackenzie, p.283.
2. ^ ^{a b} 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. ^ ^{a b} Mettingham Castle, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
7. ^ Mackenzie, p.283.
8. ^ Mackenzie, p.285; Mettingham Castle, National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
9. ^ Mettingham Castle, Gatehouse website, accessed 18 July 2011.

Bibliography

• Mackenzie, J.D. (1896) Castles of England. New York: Macmillan.
• Page, William. (ed) (1911) The Victoria History of Suffolk, Vol. 1. London: University of London.
• Wall, J. C. (1911) "Ancient Earthworks," in Page (ed) (1911).

External links

• English Heritage visitor details for the site