Mettingham Castle
Mettingham Castle was a fortified manor house in the village of Mettingham, Suffolk, England.
| Mettingham Castle | |
|---|---|
| Mettingham, Suffolk | |
 Gatehouse of Mettingham Castle | |
  Mettingham Castle | |
| Coordinates | 52.4448°N 1.4714°E |
| Type | Fortified manor house |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Private |
| Open to the public | Yes, on selected days |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Site history | |
| Materials | Stone |
Details
Mettingham Castle was formed by Sir John de Norwich, who was given a licence 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, he built another court 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]
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.[1] 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.[7]
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.[8] 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]
References
- Mackenzie, p.283.
- Wall, p.621.
- Mackenzie, p.284; Mettingham Castle, National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
- Mettingham Castle, National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
- Mackenzie, p.283; Wall, p.621.
- Mettingham Castle, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
- Mackenzie, p.285; Mettingham Castle, National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 17 July 2011.
- 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).