Baconsthorpe Castle

The last day of the holidays; a glorious, bright, chilly day. In the shade the frost lay white into the afternoon and ice on the puddles unmelted. We went a broad circular route on bicycles out to Baconsthorpe Castle and home via Plumstead and Bessingham; a couple of hours or so. The fingertips and toes were a little numb with the cold on our return. A bacon sandwich, tea and a slice of Christmas cake in the warm soon sorted that out.

The gatehouse of Baconsthorpe Castle was built in the 1450s by John Heydon, a local bigwig who amassed great wealth but was known to be crafty and quarrelsome. During the Wars of the Roses (1455-85) he often switched sides to suit his personal fortunes. The gatehouse was fortified and could serve as a keep when under threat which was probably just as well.
The lower rooms housed a chief porter and butler while the rooms above were described by John's son, Sir Henry, as luxuriously furnished with feather beds and silk curtains.
The Heydon family made pots of money in the wool trade during the sixteenth century and went on to build a wool processing plant on site, surrounding the entire edifice with a moat and adding parkland and ornamental gardens. Subsequent heirs eventually blew the wealth on wild and extravagant living. Today the ruins belong to the National Trust and they have preserved it in its pleasantly dilapidated state...