England · Ruin
Castle Acre Castle
Castle Acre Castle is a ruined medieval motte-and-bailey castle in Castle Acre, Norfolk, built soon after the Norman Conquest by William de Warenne. It comprises a large motte with an inner bailey, a substantial rectangular outer bailey, and a northeast barbican; substantial earthwork ramparts survive alongside fragments of 12th-century stone curtain walls and gatehouses. The site is a scheduled monument and is managed by English Heritage as a visitor attraction.
First raised
1140
Its prime
1165
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1165
The shape it held in its prime.
A large circular earthen motte topped by a tall square stone keep sits north of a broad rectangular outer bailey; both inner and outer baileys are defined by high earth banks and deep ditches with stretches of pale grey flint-and-rubble curtain wall rising from the slopes. Three substantial stone gatehouses guard approaches, and a barbican and bridge protect the north‑east flank; service ranges and a stone double-hall occupy the inner bailey. At prime the defences read as a continuous ring of earth and stone.
Its story
The story of Castle Acre Castle.
Where the River Nar met the Peddars Way, William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, raised Castle Acre in the 1070s at the centre of his Norfolk estates — possibly on top of the house of Toki, the wealthy Anglo-Saxon displaced after the Conquest. The motte-and-bailey held a large country house at the centre of the motte, and the castle's chapel soon went to Cluniac monks, who under the second earl were given land to found Castle Acre Priory alongside.
After civil war broke out in 1135 the third earl, another William, began a tall keep on the motte and reinforced the earthworks in stone; a planned walled settlement was laid out beside the castle, and the Peddars Way redirected past castle, town and priory — all symbols of de Warenne power in the region. Hamelin de Warenne, who acquired the castle through marriage, curtailed the keep around 1165 but completed three large stone gatehouses, of which the town's bailey gate still survives.
The de Warennes held Castle Acre until 1347, when Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, inherited it; by 1397 the fortifications were in ruins. Sir Edward Coke carried out restoration work at the start of the 17th century, and in 1971 Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester, placed the castle in state guardianship. English Heritage manages it today, its huge earthworks judged by Historic England "among the finest surviving in England".
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1165.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Castle Acre Castle — including 2 interiors: great double-hall / keep interior, castle kitchen and service range. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Castle Acre Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1165 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Castle Acre Castle.
The families that held Castle Acre Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Warenne
Built by William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, in the 1070s and held by the de Warenne earls until 1347, when it passed to Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel.
Coke
Sir Edward Coke restored the castle in the early 17th century; the Cokes, Earls of Leicester, held it until Thomas Coke placed it in state guardianship in 1971.
