Castle Rising was the first place I visited on my third and final meta bucket list. This bucket list is aimed at visiting all of the properties that are run by English Heritage. English Heritage currently has over 400 properties in England. I also visited the properties in Castle Acre before I left for home as they are quite close to Castle Rising.
History of Castle Rising
Castle Rising is located in the small village of Castle Rising not far from the town of Kings Lynn in the county of Norfolk. Contruction of the castle begin sometime around 1138 by the Earl of Arundel, William d’Aubigny II. The castle was then passed down Williams dependents until 1243 when the Montalt family took ownership of the castle. The castle was later sold to Queen Isabella in 1330 for her to live in after her fall from grace. Isabella made several adjustments and extensions to the castle. After her death the castle was added to the Duchy of Cornwall by the King.
From the 15th century onwards the decline of the castle begin. During this time it was only really used to house nobles who were on hunting trips in the countryside. By the middle of the 16th century Castle Rising was fully derelict and in disrepair. Henry VIII eventually sold the castle to Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk. During his ownership a lot of the castle and the surrounding buildings were demolished. The castle was given to the United Kingdom government in 1958, who then spend a lot of money stabilizing what was left of the castle. There was also quite a lot of archeological work carried while the castle was being stabalized. In 1998 English Heritage moved the management of Castle Rising back to the Howard family who still manage Castle Rising today.
The Castle is made from three baileys each of those if defended my impressive earthworks. The site is roughly 5 hectares or 12 acres in size. The inner bailey is the one that houses the great keep.
My Visit to Castle Rising
Castle Rising was one of the first English Heritage property’s that I visited on my quest to eventually to visit every site English Heritage owns. I combined this trip out with a visit to Castle Acre Priory and Castle Acre castle as they are not all that far from each other. You can easily see all three in one day.
The car park can be a little scary at Castle Rising. One edge of the car park is next to one of the massive ditches that surround the site. You do need to make sure that you pop you handbrake on so you car does not roll down into it. There is a small toilet block at the far end of the car park.
The ticket office on site also acts as a small gift shop where you are able to purchase English Heritage and Castle Rising branded merchandise. Entry is free for English Heritage members else it costs £5 for Adults, full prices are listed below. You enter the inner bailey over a small bridge and through what is left of the gatehouse. I decided to take a walk on top of the inner bailey that goes around castle rising. I visited Castle Rising at the start of July which was a very hot summer day, it was over 30oC with no clouds in the sky. Even walking around the top of the inner bailey brought me out in a sweat.
From the outside the castle looks almost intact with only a few broken pieces of wall here and there. However once you step through the front door you begin to see the damage that has been done to the castle. I took the first left with takes you into what was the basement under the great hall. Looking up you can imagine what it would have been like when it was built all them years ago.
Sadly there is no roof or floors left in the great hall. In a room off from the great hall there is another room which actually has a well set in the floor. It looks as if this castle actually had its own source of water inside the building. As you wander round and up you can see just how thick the outside walls off the castle are. They are massive probably over two meters in places. Sometime after the castle was built they cut a slice of the outer wall to make a passage into a different part of the castle.
There are a couple of rooms that are relatively complete with roofs,floors and windows. There is no furniture of artwork in any of those rooms so they are rather plain. I feel that it is possible to have a full look around the castle in around a hour.
They do sometimes have events on at the castle re-enacting historic events and lives.
Useful Information
Getting to Castle Rising
Entrance
The Car park of Castle Rising is a mixture of grass and gravel. The castle is a short 50 meter walk from the car park.
Postcode: PE31 6AH
Latitude: 52.792755
Longtitude: 0.4681
- Entry fee for English Heritage members: FREE
- Adult: £5
- Child: £3.50
- Concession: £4
- Family: £15.40
Opening Times
1st April > 1st November, Open every day 10am until 6pm
2nd November > 31st March, Open Wednesday until Sunday 10am until 4pm
24,25,26 of December the site is CLOSED
Facilities
- Car Parking
- Toilets
- Ticket office
- Gift Shop