Gresham Castle

In 1427 the castle and manor of Gresham was purchased by the lawyer William Paston to add to his already large property holdings in Norfolk. Paston purchased the castle and manor from Thomas Chaucer of Ewelme and Sir William Moleyns, who each owned half of the property. However, the legality of the purchase was challenged by the Wiltshire peer, Robert Hungerford, Lord Moleyns, 2nd Baron Hungerford. Consequently, when William Paston died he left a large and valuable inheritance including Gresham Castle to his son John Paston. Lord Moleyns' longstanding claim to half of the property was encouraged by John Paston's bitter rival John Haydon of nearby Baconsthorpe Castle. On 17 February 1448 }}…

The castle is situated in a green field site close to the village. It is rectangular in shape with a bulbous protrusion at the north-west corner. A moat surrounding the site is 12–15 feet (3.7–4.6 m) wide and still contains water which can restrict access to the site. The waters of the moat were once supplied from Gur Beck, however this has been re-directed and runs approximately 160 ft from the remains of the castle. The central platform is approximately 2844 sqyd in area, with round towers 35 ft in diameter. It is very overgrown with trees, bushes and brambles, making an overview of the castle very difficult. The tower that stood at the south-east angle is forward of the platform line.…