Marham Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Hills and Holes

In the civil parish of Marham. In the historic county of Norfolk (Modern Authority of Norfolk, 1974 county of Norfolk).

Rectangular moated site which has been identified as the site of the fortified manor known as Marham Castle. The moated site has maximum overall dimensions of 80m north west-south east by 77m north east-south west. The moat surrounds a central platform on which are the remains of a substantial building. Mounds up to 1.5m in height, projecting externally at the four corners of this enclosure, mark the location of what were probably turrets. The manor at Marham was held in the second half of C13 by William Belet, who received licence to crenellate his house there in 1271. However an Inquistion 1277 found that "the castle of Marham, raised by William Belet, is to the prejudice and nuisance of the king and country". The castle is unlikely to have survived for much longer after this date. See Coulson (2003) p131-133 for details of the licencing and the reasons for this minor site being called a castle.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TF70530955

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 1091534
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 11462; 13644 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Web site links
  • http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MNF11462
    http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MNF13644
• Books
  • Charles Coulson, 2003, Castles in Medieval Society (OUP; Oxford) p131-3, 135, 140, 173, 324
    Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of East Anglia (Malvern) p58
    Liddiard, R., 2000, Landscapes of Lordship (Oxford: BAR 309) p109n17
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) [Shown on map of fortified houses of East Anglia]
    Rogerson, Andrew, 1994, 'Castles' in Wade-Martins, P, (ed), An Historical Atlas of Norfolk (2edn Norwich; Norfolk Museums) p68-9
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p309
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
    Blomefield, Francis [continued by Charles Parkin], 1739-75, An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk (Fersfield and Lynn) Vol7 p378-9
• Journal Articles
  • Leah, Mark, Mathews, Margaret and Davison, Alan, 1997, 'A Survey of the Earthworks at Hills and Holes Plantation, Marham, Norfolk' Norfolk Archaeology Vol42 p506-11
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1266-1272) p540
    Cal.Inq.Misc. Vol1 329, 1089