Scheduled MonumentsEnglandCaister Castle

Caister Castle

England
List entry 1002882
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1002882
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
1.11 hectares
Grid reference
TG5047212286
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Caister Castle is a fifteenth-century fortress built between 1432 and 1446 by Sir John Fastolf near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. The castle is notable for its distinctive brick construction and its massive circular keep, which stands approximately ninety feet in height and remains one of the most prominent features of the ruins today. Following Fastolf's death, the castle passed to the Paston family, whose occupation and subsequent loss of the fortress to the Duke of Norfolk in 1469 features prominently in the Paston Letters, a significant historical archive. The remains today include substantial portions of the brick-built curtain wall and the keep, which together testify to the military architecture and domestic arrangements of the early Tudor period.

Caister Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1002882. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Caister Castle?

Caister Castle is a fifteenth-century fortress built between 1432 and 1446 by Sir John Fastolf near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1002882.

Who is responsible for protecting Caister Castle?

Caister Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1002882.

What other scheduled monuments are near Caister Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Caister-on-Sea Roman fort and Saxon settlement (1.2 km), Second World War Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) Battery, 345m east of Decoy Farm, Mautby (2.2 km), Midsands Cross on Crosstead road (3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Caister Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Caister Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Caister Castle

Caister Castle stands on Neogene To Quaternary Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Quaternary. The rock here is gravel, sand, silt and clay.

The wider landscape

Around Caister Castle

Caistor St EdmundsRoman town · ~17.8 miles