| Mettingham Castle | |
| Location: | Mettingham, Suffolk |
| Map Type: | Suffolk |
| Coordinates: | 52.4448°N 1.4714°W |
| Map Size: | 200 |
| Type: | Fortified manor house |
| Materials: | Stone |
| Condition: | Ruined |
| Ownership: | Private |
| Open To Public: | Yes, on selected days |
Mettingham Castle was a fortified manor house in the parish of Mettingham in the north of the English county of Suffolk.
Mettingham Castle was founded by Sir John de Norwich, who was given a licence to crenellate his existing manor house on the site in 1342.[1] The first house stood within a small moat, up to 15 foot wide with 6 foot high banks; upon receiving permission to crenellate, however, he built another court to the north of this, again moated, with a gateway to the north.[2] Another moated court was later built to the south.[2] An Edwardian style gatehouse formed the entrance to the castle and supplemented a stone wall that surrounded the property.[3] By 1562, there were "stables, servants' lodgings, kitchen, bakehouse, brewhouse, malting house, storehouses, and an aisled hall" within the castle walls.[4]
The castle remained in Sir John's family until 1394, when it was given to a college of secular canons from nearby Norton, who established Mettingham College on the small moated court within the castle.[5] The monks taught up to 13 boys at the castle.[6] After the dissolution of the monasteries the property was sold off to a sequence of private owners after 1542.[1] The castle was largely demolished in the 18th century to make way for a new farm house on the site, which lasted until around 1880 when it was pulled down in turn; the house rebuilt on the site reused parts of the original medieval stonework.[7]
Today the site is a scheduled monument and a grade 2 listed building; the gatehouse still survives, as do some of the stone walls and many of the surrounding moats and earthworks.[8] In the 21st century a major renovation project occurred at the castle to repair the worsening damage, involving a grant of £330,000 by English Heritage.[6]