Scheduled Monuments›England›Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate

Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate

England
List entry 1017909
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1017909
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
4.64 hectares
Grid reference
TF 81823 14922
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Castle Acre Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle founded in the late eleventh century by William de Warenne, a prominent companion of William the Conqueror, in the village of Castle Acre in Norfolk. The castle comprises a substantial earthwork motte with an extensive bailey, representing one of the more impressive surviving examples of Norman defensive earthworks in East Anglia. The associated town defences and Bailey Gate reflect the castle's role as both a military stronghold and the centre of a planned medieval settlement, with the gate providing controlled access through the fortified town boundary. The castle site, now under the care of English Heritage, remains an important physical survival of early Norman settlement patterns and urban planning in England.

Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1017909. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate?

Castle Acre Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle founded in the late eleventh century by William de Warenne, a prominent companion of William the Conqueror, in the village of Castle Acre in Norfolk. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1017909.

Who is responsible for protecting Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate?

Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate 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 1017909.

What other scheduled monuments are near Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castle Acre Priory (0.5 km), Double moated site of Old Hall, 250m north west of Church Farm (0.9 km), Churchyard cross, St George's Church (1.2 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate'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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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Castle Acre Priory
0.5 km
Double moated site of Old Hall, 250m north west of Church Farm
0.9 km
Churchyard cross, St George's Church
1.2 km
Moated site 230m and 110m north of All Saints Church
1.3 km
Deserted medieval village, Great Palgrave
3.5 km
West Acre Priory, and square barrow within the precinct
3.7 km
Bowl barrow 540m east of Mink Patches
5 km
Bowl barrow in Great Wood, 400m north of Lexham Hall
5.3 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate

Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

The wider landscape

Around Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate

Grimes GravesArchaeological site · ~15.7 miles
Domesday entry for Acre, Norfolk →
All Scheduled Monuments