Gresham Castle
Encyclopedia
Gresham Castle is located south of the village of Gresham
in the north of the English county of Norfolk
. The medieval castle was actually a fortified manor house
.
Permission by license to crenellate his manor house was gained by Sir Edmund Bacon in 1318. Gresham was one of a group of late castles to be fortified or built along the east coast that include Baconsthorpe
, Caister
, Claxton
and Mettingham Castle
in Suffolk
.
surrounding the site is twelve to fifteen feet wide at points and still contains water which can restrict access to the site. The waters of the moat were once supplied from Gur Beck
which now has been re-directed and runs approximately 50 meters adjacent to the remains of the castle. The central platform is approximately 2378 square meters (2844 square yards) in area, with round towers 35 feet in diameter. It is very overgrown with trees, bushes and brambles, making an overview of the castle very difficult. The tower that stood at the south-east angle is forward of the platform line. The revetment
s of the two corner towers on the west elevation can be seen, of which one is much larger than the other. Between them part of the curtain wall still stands to about six feet. The footprint of the site indicates that there were towers on the east side as well, with the one at the north west angle being the size of a keep
. Large timbers, presumed to be what remained of a drawbridge
, an entrance to a passage, and the keel of a boat were discovered when the surrounding moat was cleaned out in 1846.
of Ewelme
and Sir William Moleyns, who each owned half of the property. However, the legality of the purchase was challenged by the Wiltshire peer, Robert Hungerford, Lord Moleyns, 2nd Baron Hungerford
. Consequently when William Paston died he left a large and valuable inheritance including Gresham Castle to his son John Paston. Lord Moleyns' longstanding claim to half of the property was encouraged by John Paston’s bitter rival John Haydon of nearby Baconsthorpe Castle
. On the 17th of February of 1448 forces led by Lord Moleyns took direct action and entered the fortified manor house and began to collect rent from the tenants of the manor. After these actions, John Paston petitioned the king, and after his appeals Paston reclaimed his property on the 6th October. On the 28th January, Moleyns with a force of a one thousand men made up of some locals and retainers from Wiltshire
, occupied the castle once more this time forcible evicting John Paston’s wife Margaret and twelve of her servants. A lieutenant of Moleyns by the name of Partridge was left to barricade the castle against any attempt by Paston to reclaim his property. In the Paston Letters
Margaret explains to her husband John
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One year later John Paston reclaimed the castle and manor, this time with no resistance. He found that the castle was in a very poor state and unfit for habitation. In 1466 John Paston died leaving his estate which included Gresham to his eldest son, also called John. In 1471 Sir John Gresham contemplated the rebuilding of Gresham Castle and sent his brother, also, strangely, called John, to survey the site and draw up plans for a rebuilding. In the event no rebuilding was carried out and the site was abandoned.
Gresham, Norfolk
Gresham is a village and civil parish in North Norfolk, England, five miles south-west of Cromer.A predominantly rural parish, Gresham centres on its medieval church of All Saints. The village also once had a square 14th century castle, a watermill and a windmill...
in the north of the English county of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. The medieval castle was actually a fortified manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
.
Permission by license to crenellate his manor house was gained by Sir Edmund Bacon in 1318. Gresham was one of a group of late castles to be fortified or built along the east coast that include Baconsthorpe
Baconsthorpe Castle
Baconsthorpe Castle is a fortified manor house, now a ruin, to the north of the village of Baconsthorpe, Norfolk, England. Norfolk, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument....
, Caister
Caister Castle
Caister Castle is a 15th-century moated castle situated in the parish of West Caister, some north of the town of Great Yarmouth in the English county of Norfolk ....
, Claxton
Claxton Castle
Claxton Castle was in the village of Claxton in Norfolk some 13 km south-east of Norwich.-Details:This brick built castle was licensed in 1333. It was largely demolished in the 17th century to build Claxton Hall. Part of its outer wall and one tower remain...
and Mettingham Castle
Mettingham
Mettingham is a village in Suffolk, England, close to the border with Norfolk.Its church, All Saints, is one of 38 existing round-tower churches in Suffolk, UK....
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
Description
The castle is situated in a green field site close to the village. It is rectangular in shape with a bulbous protrusion at the north-west corner. A moatMoat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
surrounding the site is twelve to fifteen feet wide at points and still contains water which can restrict access to the site. The waters of the moat were once supplied from Gur Beck
Gur Beck
Gur Beck is a minor watercourse which rises in the north of the English county of Norfolk. It is a tributary of the Scarrow Beck. Its spring is a little east of the North Norfolk village of West Beckham. It eventually merges after with the Scarrow Beck at Sustead. There is one watermill on the beck...
which now has been re-directed and runs approximately 50 meters adjacent to the remains of the castle. The central platform is approximately 2378 square meters (2844 square yards) in area, with round towers 35 feet in diameter. It is very overgrown with trees, bushes and brambles, making an overview of the castle very difficult. The tower that stood at the south-east angle is forward of the platform line. The revetment
Revetment
Revetments, or revêtements , have a variety of meanings in architecture, engineering and art history. In stream restoration, river engineering or coastal management, they are sloping structures placed on banks or cliffs in such a way as to absorb the energy of incoming water...
s of the two corner towers on the west elevation can be seen, of which one is much larger than the other. Between them part of the curtain wall still stands to about six feet. The footprint of the site indicates that there were towers on the east side as well, with the one at the north west angle being the size of a keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
. Large timbers, presumed to be what remained of a drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
, an entrance to a passage, and the keel of a boat were discovered when the surrounding moat was cleaned out in 1846.
History
In 1427 the castle and manor of Gresham was purchased by the lawyer William Paston to add to his already large property holdings in Norfolk. Paston purchased the castle and manor from Thomas ChaucerThomas Chaucer
Thomas Chaucer was the Speaker of the English House of Commons and son of Geoffrey Chaucer and Philippa Roet.-Life:...
of Ewelme
Ewelme
Ewelme is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, northeast of the market town of Wallingford.To the east of the village is Cow Common and to the west, Benson Airfield, the north-eastern corner of which is within the parish boundary.The solid geology is chalk...
and Sir William Moleyns, who each owned half of the property. However, the legality of the purchase was challenged by the Wiltshire peer, Robert Hungerford, Lord Moleyns, 2nd Baron Hungerford
Baron Hungerford
The Barony of Hungerford was created in the Peerage of England on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Garter before and was made Lord High Treasurer one year before he...
. Consequently when William Paston died he left a large and valuable inheritance including Gresham Castle to his son John Paston. Lord Moleyns' longstanding claim to half of the property was encouraged by John Paston’s bitter rival John Haydon of nearby Baconsthorpe Castle
Baconsthorpe Castle
Baconsthorpe Castle is a fortified manor house, now a ruin, to the north of the village of Baconsthorpe, Norfolk, England. Norfolk, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument....
. On the 17th of February of 1448 forces led by Lord Moleyns took direct action and entered the fortified manor house and began to collect rent from the tenants of the manor. After these actions, John Paston petitioned the king, and after his appeals Paston reclaimed his property on the 6th October. On the 28th January, Moleyns with a force of a one thousand men made up of some locals and retainers from Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, occupied the castle once more this time forcible evicting John Paston’s wife Margaret and twelve of her servants. A lieutenant of Moleyns by the name of Partridge was left to barricade the castle against any attempt by Paston to reclaim his property. In the Paston Letters
Paston Letters
The Paston Letters are a collection of letters and papers from England, consisting of the correspondence of members of the gentry Paston family, and others connected with them, between the years 1422 and 1509, and also including some state papers and other important documents.- History of the...
Margaret explains to her husband John
One year later John Paston reclaimed the castle and manor, this time with no resistance. He found that the castle was in a very poor state and unfit for habitation. In 1466 John Paston died leaving his estate which included Gresham to his eldest son, also called John. In 1471 Sir John Gresham contemplated the rebuilding of Gresham Castle and sent his brother, also, strangely, called John, to survey the site and draw up plans for a rebuilding. In the event no rebuilding was carried out and the site was abandoned.