Wormegay Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Wormgay

In the civil parish of Wormegay.
In the historic county of Norfolk.
Modern Authority of Norfolk.
1974 county of Norfolk.
Medieval County of Norfolk.

OS Map Grid Reference: TF65931173
Latitude 52.67789° Longitude 0.45216°

Wormegay Castle has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

A motte and bailey castle in Wormegay village. The motte is visible as a large, sub-circular earthen mound 5m high and measuring about 77m by 62m at the base, surrounded on the north, west and south sides by a ditch 12m-15m wide which remains open to a depth of 2m. On the top of the mound is a slightly uneven platform on which would have stood a tower. The bailey adjoins the motte on the eastern side and takes the form of an enclosure measuring 150m by 88m, raised about 1m above the external ground level and bounded by a semicircular ditch which runs outward from the motte ditch and ranges in width from 9m on the south side to 19m on the east. The castle was probably built by Hermer de Ferrers after the Norman Conquest. (PastScape)

The remaining earthworks of a fine medieval motte and bailey castle situated on the west side of what was once an island in the peat fen to the south of the River Nar, controlling the causeway between the island and the higher ground to the west. The present village is thought to have developed around the castle after the Norman Conquest, replacing an earlier settlement in the vicinity of St Michael's Church to the east. The motte is visible as a large broadly circular tree-covered mound about 5m high, surrounded on three sides by a ditch, with a ditched bailey to the east. (Norfolk HER)

Comments

There is some discussion as to if there was a Saxon manor house on this site. Village nucleation came relatively late to Norfolk and was not always complete so it is possible there were two or more centres in Wormegay but it does seem unusual for the church and manor house to do quite so far apart and it does seem there was only one manor in Wormegay. In the Saxon landscape Wormegay must have been an island of cultivatable land surrounded by marsh with the castle at the neck of a causeway onto the 'island'.
Particularly fine bailey the rampart is well preserved and shows signs of being built in short straight sections to form the general curve, suggesting the bank was made by infilling soil between two upright hurdles about 2m apart.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1018651, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 30557
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 356377.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 3455.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- CastleUK.net
  Charles Taylor's ecastles
Books
- Liddiard, Robert, 2005, 'The Castle Landscape of Anglo-Norman East Anglia: A Regional Perspective' in Harper-Bill, C. (ed), Medieval East Anglia (Woodbridge, Boydell) p. 33-51
  Cushion, B. and Davison, A., 2003, Earthworks of Norfolk (Dereham: East Anglian Archaeology 104) p. 184-5 (plan)
  Salter, Mike, 2002, Index and Amendments to Mike Salter's English Castles Books (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 9
  Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of East Anglia (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 71
  Liddiard, R., 2000, Landscapes of Lordship (British Archaeological Reports British Series 309) p. 31-3, 75-9
  Wade-Martins, P. (ed), 1999, Norfolk From The Air Vol. 2 (Norfolk Museums Service) p. 39
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 164 (slight)
  Margeson, S., Seiller, F. and Rogerson, A., 1994, The Normans in Norfolk (Norfolk Museums Service) p. 29-30
  Rogerson, Andrew, 1994, 'Castles' in Wade-Martins, P, (ed), An Historical Atlas of Norfolk (2edn Norwich; Norfolk Museums) p. 68-9
  Pounds, N.J.G., 1990, The medieval castle in England and Wales (Cambridge University Press) p. 132
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 309
  Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1962, The Buildings of England: Norfolk: North-West and South (Penguin) p. 390
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 1 p. 308 online copy
  1865, Wermigey; or the weir amid the water (King's Lynn) online copy
  Blomefield, F., 1807, 'Clackclose Hundred and Half: Wermegay' An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk Vol. 7 p. 493-502 (tenurial history) online transcription
Periodical Articles
- Liddiard, Robert, 2006, 'Early castles in the Medieval Landscape of East Anglia' Château Gaillard Vol. 22 p. 243-50
  Braun, H., 1937, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol 1 p. 140

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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