Baconsthorpe Castle

Place research page generated from the structured place spine and the companion place markdown.

Library / Place

Baconsthorpe Castle

Baconsthorpe, Norfolk, England

Type: historic site
Also known as: Baconsthorpe Castle, Baconsthorpe Hall, Wood Hall, Baconsthorpe, Baconsthorpe Castle moated site with fortified house, gatehouse, courtyards and formal gardens
Roles: spouse family seat, in-law alliance context, wool economy context, heritage site
Current site: ruins and earthworks extant - Historic England lists the site as a Scheduled Monument, with standing remains, buried remains, the moated fortified-house platform, outer gatehouse, courtyards, mere, and formal-garden earthworks. English Heritage manages the castle as extensive ruins. Much of the principal residence was demolished in the mid-17th century, but the outer gatehouse survived as Baconsthorpe Hall until 1920.
Coordinate: 52.8985961, 1.152825 (high)

Open in Places Catalog English Heritage: Baconsthorpe Castle history

Baconsthorpe Castle is the moated fortified manor house that became the Heydon family's principal seat from about 1450. It matters to the direct Gurney line through the Gurney-Heydon alliance: Thomas Gournay II named John Heydon of Baconsthorpe supervisor of his 1471 will; Henry Heydon backed William Gurney IV during the 1472 Saxthorpe dispute; and William Gurney V married Henry's daughter Anne Heydon shortly after 28 May 1484. English Heritage and Historic England also make it a useful place-context anchor for East Anglia's wool economy.

Linked ancestors

G18 William Gurney V spouse family seat
G19 William Gurney IV in-law alliance context
G20 Thomas Gournay II in-law alliance context