New Buckenham Castle, Norfolk.....

The castle at Buckenham was built by William d'Albini one of William the Conqueror's Barons (who also built Castle Rising).  In 1145 d'Albini's son gave the castle to the Augustinian order of canons to found an abbey and proceeded to build a more ambitious, moated fortress a short distance to the south east, he built a town, named New Buckenham, to service the new castle....

The path from the road to the castle, the site of the outer baileys.....

The imposing earthworks from the path....

The 15th century moat bridge platform....

The moat....

The circular stone castle keep, said to be the earliest in England.... the keep had 11 foot thick stone walls and rising to 40 feet high, built of local flint.... and the snowdrops look lovely too!

From the earthworks which rise 40 feet above the moat, in other words almost a mountain!....

... wondering where the Baron's dog's privy chamber was.....

Looking down onto the keep from the ramparts....

The Market House, New Buckenham....

Local legend says that the castle is where the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was hatched.