Norwich Castle
Local highlightA great square Norman keep on a high earth mound in the middle of Norwich, for centuries the county gaol and now the city's museum
Open to visitorscheck opening times and admission before you go
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
Right in the heart of the city, on a huge man-made mound, stands the stone box of Norwich Castle’s keep — one of the grandest Norman keeps in England, raised by the crown in the first half of the 12th century as a royal stronghold and a show of power over a rich and rebellious region. For hundreds of years afterwards the keep served as the county gaol, and public hangings were held on its walls. The outside you see today is not quite medieval: the stonework was refaced in the 1830s, copying the Norman blind arcading, which is why the walls look so crisp. Since the Victorian era the keep and its later buildings have housed Norwich Castle Museum, with galleries of art, archaeology and natural history inside the old shell. It sits above the modern shopping streets, a few minutes’ walk from the medieval church of St Peter Mancroft and from the riverside Cow Tower, with The Broads beginning just beyond the edge of town.
More at the National Heritage List entry
