Norwich siegework (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: TG23190853
Latitude 52.62840° Longitude 1.29604°

Norwich siegework has been described as a Siege Work although is doubtful that it was such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Renn records a siege castle, now destroyed, built in 1074.

All that certain history has to tell of this siege of Norwich Castle, is that De Guader left it in the hands of his countess and knights, the names of the latter not being given; that they were attacked by the king's forces under the leaders named in the text, armed with all the mechanical inventions of the day; that the countess held it for three months, and gave it up on the terms related through lack of provisions; and that she rejoined her husband in Brittany. Why he had not appeared to relieve his castle is not recorded. These details may be found in Orderic Vitalis, Matthew Paris, Florence of Worcester, the Chronicles of Worcester and Peterborough, and in all modern historians who deal with the period, perhaps the best account being that of Freeman in the fourth volume of his Norman Conquest a work abounding in interest and spirited description. (Blake, 1893, p. 349)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Books
- Blake, M.M., 1893, The siege of Norwich Castle (New York) (Historical fiction loosely based on actual siege) online copy
  Freeman, E.A., 1876, The history of the Norman Conquest of England (Clarendon) Vol. 4 p. 581-3 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol. 33 p. 106-12 (listed as siegework)
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Ingram, James, (ed) 1912, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Everyman Press, London) AD1075 view online transcription (Ingram's translation and notes date from 1823. More recent translations of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles should be consulted for serious study)
  Forester, T. (ed), 1854, The Ecclesiatical History of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis Vol. 2. 81-82 (English Translation) online copy
  Le Provost, A. (ed), 1840 Orderici Vitalis ... Historiæ ecclesiasticæ libri tredecem Vol. 2 p. 258 (Original latin with french notes) online copy (But consult Chibnall, M. (ed), 1968-80, The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis (Book4 Chapter13) for modern scholarship)

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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.

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.

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