Little Wenham Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

In the countryside of south Suffolk, near Ipswich, Little Wenham Castle, also called Little Wenham Hall, is a late 13th-century fortified house, built between about 1260 and 1290. Historic England considers it one of the earliest known examples of the use of locally made brick in England, which makes it a milestone in the history of English building. The building has an L-shaped plan: a large hall on the first floor and, rising higher, a wing containing a vaulted chapel with a carved boss depicting Saint Petronilla. Brick battlements, arrow slits and a spiral staircase give the house a military appearance, but some architectural historians see it above all as a prestige residence. Who built it is still debated: the listing entry mentions Sir John de Vaux and Petronilla de Nerford, while other authors suggest the royal clerk Roger de Holbrook. Altered in the 16th century and restored at the end of the 19th, the house is listed Grade I and protected as a scheduled monument.