Weeting Castle

Weeting Castle, lies next to the village of the same name in the county of Norfolk in England.

Although this site is named a 'castle', is actually the remnant of a manor house.

Weeting Castle was built in about 1180 by Hugh de Plais, probably on the site of a pre-existing Saxon settlement. He was a tenant of William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey. The Warenne's Norfolk stronghold at Castle Acre had a similar building to Weeting Castle in the outer bailey. It is thought that Hugh copied the design of that building for his own residence.

Despite its name, Weeting Castle was never fortified. The rectangular moat that surrounds the house, was added in the mid-13th century, purely to demonstrate the wealth and power of the De Plais family.

In the late 14th century property of Weeting Castle passed to the Howards, Earls of Norfolk, through marriage. It was subsequently abandoned. Later it was incorporated as an ornamental feature within the grounds of the now demolished Weeting Hall.

At present the ruin of Weeting Castle is freely accessible. It's a nice ruin in a nice rural location but it lacks architectural detail.

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