- Type
- Castle
- Built
- c. 1095 · 11th century
- Location
- England, United Kingdom
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 52.6281°, 1.2968°
History
The castle was founded on the orders of William the Conqueror soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066, with a huge mound raised in the middle of the town, burying dozens of houses. Work on the stone keep began around 1095 and was completed under Henry I, around 1120; it was one of the grandest Norman royal buildings in the country. Kings rarely came here, however, and by the 13th century the fortress was mainly used as the Norfolk county gaol. In the 1830s Anthony Salvin refaced the decayed walls in Bath stone, faithfully reproducing the original decoration. When the prison closed in 1887 the building was converted into a museum, which opened in 1894.
What to see
The keep, its walls decorated with blind arcading, stands on a grassy mound overlooking central Norwich. After a five-year project completed in August 2025, its interior has been returned to its early 12th-century Norman layout, with reconstructed floors, a great hall and royal chambers furnished as they might have looked under Henry I. The former prison buildings house a museum of archaeology, natural history and paintings of the Norwich School, and the old cells can be seen in the basement.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1672292
Popularity: articles about this site in 18 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).