Baconsthorpe Castle was established by the Heydon family in the 15th. century. The village of Baconsthorpe lays between Holt and Norwich, and was named after the local Bacon family. The village had two manor houses, the first in the main village and the other, called Wood Hall, on the outskirts. William Baxton had come from a relatively humble background, but by around 1400 he had bought the Bacon family's lands in the area, including half of the Wood Hall estate. William probably began the construction of the castle, then termed Baconsthorpe Hall, starting to construct the moated platform and the inner gatehouse around 1460.
William's son, John Heydon I, continued to develop the property and acquire more land around the area, changing his family name in the process to disguise his lower social origin. John was an ambitious lawyer, and came to be hated and feared across the region as his power increased. By the time of his death in 1479, the inner gatehouse was completed and work on the courtyard house begun, creating the basis of a tall, fortified house. The castle demonstrated John's political aspirations, and was intended to impress his peers in the region.
Sir Henry Heydon continued his father's work on the castle. Henry married into London money and became a wealthy sheep farmer, being knighted in 1485. He completed the castle's main house, service court and the north-east tower. In the process, perhaps being less worried than his father about any attack on his property, he altered the character of Baconthorpe to produce an "upmarket, courtyard house".
Over the course of the 16th. century, the Heydon's became one of the leading families in Norfolk, marrying well, practising law and enjoying the profits from their sheep and the wool trade, their products were sold in England and also exported to the Netherlands.
Sir John Heydon II inherited Baconsthorpe in 1504 but primarily lived at Saxlingham. After a pause in construction, he finished the construction of Baconsthorpe's north court and turned the east range of the castle into a wool factory before his death in 1550.
His son, Sir Christopher I, then built the outer gatehouse and barn around 1560, and in 1561 created a 300 acre deer park alongside the castle. The Heydon's lived in lavish style, Sir Christopher maintaining a household of 80 servants and a coach with two horses.
The castle was inherited by Sir William Heydon II in 1579, but by now the wool trade was in decline and the family was building up debts. Parts of the estate were sold and Baconthorpe was mortgaged.
William died in 1593 and his son Christopher II inherited Baconsthorpe. Christopher renovated the inner gatehouse and created a large mere and a formal garden around the south-east side of the castle, although he mainly resided at Saxlingham. Christopher had little interest in business, preferring to engage in military pursuits and to study astrology and by 1601 he had debts of £16,000. His financial situation did not improve and first Baconsthorpe, and then his other estates had to be mortgaged.
Baconsthorpe passed to Christopher's eldest son Sir William in 1623, but he died four years later, leaving Baconthorpe to his younger brother, Sir John III, who became the Lieutenant General of the Ordnance and, when civil war broke out in 1642, he fought on the side of King Charles I. In response, Parliament seized his lands and he was declared delinquent in 1646. He bought his estates back, but began to demolish Baconsthorpe around 1650 in order to sell off the stonework. John died in debt in 1653, leaving the castle to his son, Charles Heydon, who continued to dispose of the stone. Charles' brother, William Heydon III, eventually sold the estate.
In 1940, the castle's owner, the politician Sir Charles Mott-Radclyffe, placed the site into the care of the Ministry of Public Works. Now in the 21st. century, Baconsthorpe Castle is managed by English Heritage and protected under UK law as a Grade I and Grade II listed building, and as a scheduled monument.
