Denton Castle is a
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...
castle built in the village of
Denton,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, England.
History
Denton Castle was built after 1088, following the
Norman invasion of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conquer ...
, probably by William d'Albini, who linked his estate at Denton to that at
Buckenham
Buckenham is a small village in the English county of Norfolk situated on the northern bank of the River Yare around south-east of Norwich.
History
Buckenham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Bucca's homestea ...
, where he also built a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
. The motte is around 150 feet in diameter, surrounded by a protective ditch, with an adjacent, horseshoe-shaped bailey. The castle may have been destroyed around 1254.
Norfolk Historic Environmental Record No. 11047
', Norfolk Heritage Explorer, accessed 28 June 2011.
Today the castle is a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
. It was purchased by the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
in 1990 and forms part of the Trust's Darrow Wood pasture.
[National Trust]
Darrow Wood: Overview
accessed 29 December 2018
See also
*
Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 10 ...
*
List of castles in England
References
Bibliography
* Manning, C.R. (1884
"Earthworks at the Castle-Hill, Darrow Wood, Denton, Norfolk,"''Norfolk Archaeology'' 9, pp. 335–342. {{open access
External links
Castles in Norfolk
Denton, Norfolk