Thetford Warren Lodge (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: TL83938406
Latitude 52.42362° Longitude 0.70358°

Thetford Warren Lodge has been described as a probable Pele Tower.

There are major building remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*.

Description

Thetford Warren Lodge is a rectangular building of two storeys measuring circa 8.5m NNE-SSW by 5.8m. The walls, which stand for the most part to almost their full original height and are up to 1m thick at ground floor level, are constructed of mortared flint rubble with some brick and tile and with limestone dressings which include many reused architectural fragments of C12 type. The floor of the upper storey no longer survives. Thetford Warren Lodge is generally considered to have been built circa 1400, and to have been occupied by the gamekeeper of the Cluniac Priory of St Mary, Thetford. The character of the building is indicative of high status, and its interior features and fittings are consistent with it having been intended as a hunting lodge to accommodate hunting parties rather than a gamekeeper alone. (PastScape)

Thetford Warren Lodge retains many original features and is a rare example of its kind. It is a rectangular tower-house built of mortared flint rubble and reused stones, some of which are reddened and were probably removed from the nearby priory after a fire. The walls were substantial – up to 1 metre thick at floor level – and stand for the most part to almost their original height. The limestone dressings also include many reused 12th century architectural fragments. The level of the upper storey is marked by an offset on the interior face of the walls. The lodge had numerous defensive features, including a parapet from which the gamekeeper could look out over what was then open country. The lower windows are narrow loops and the single entrance has a meutrière or murder-hole – a chute over the porch down which missiles and boiling liquids could be delivered onto unwelcome visitors. (English Heritage web site)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1014778, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 21410
National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1297876
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 383143.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 2760.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- English Heritage
Books
- Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of East Anglia (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 70
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 163-4
  Rigold, S.E., 1979, Thetford Priory (London) p. 22-23
  Leigh-Hunt, A., 1870, The Capital of the Ancient Kingdom of East Anglia p 180

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.

*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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