Castle Acre Castle & Priory

One of the best (I know I have said that a lot on this blog, but there are a lot of amazing things) about living in England is that historical fiction can so easily come to life if you find the right site to visit. Such was the case today when we visited the quaint town of Castle Acre in Norfolk (about a half hour drive from home). Two sites of interest exist in the town: the Castle and the Priory, both interesting and notable for different reasons. It was at the Priory where the book I'm currently reading came to life. More on that in a moment.

THE CASTLE

The Castle in Castle Acre was a three story (or in British-English, a two story) home protected by some of the largest ramparts found in the country. It was fun to climb the hills and valleys, and to see the ruins.

Adam and Tanka (It's great to be in such a dog friendly country; Tanka can come everywhere with us)

The ruins of the Castle

The Ramparts

The Boys

The Ramparts & Land

The Castle Gate

The Castle Foundation- The building would have risen three stories

The Backside of the Castle

THE PRIORY

I am currently reading the book Dissolution by C. J. Sansom. It takes place at the end of King Henry VIII's rule and addresses the dissolution of monasteries all over England. It takes place in a priory (or monastery) that has a huge church, dorms, a cloister, outhouses, the Prior's house, and lots of land. Because all of the monasteries in England were destroyed, it is difficult to get a real understanding of how these buildings really looked and how they felt. Until today. (I realize you may not find this as interesting as I did, but I was like a kid at Disney World).  Welcome to one of the most complete Priories in England: Castle Acre Priory.

This is a drawing presented on site of what the priory would have looked like in its day.

This is what the pirory looks like today.

The Priory's land.

The entrance to the church, connected to the Prior's House (which was turned into a farm house after the majority of the Priory was dismantled).

The Prior's House

Examples of flint work on buildings.

More flint work.

Walking into property under Prior's House.

Just past the iron gate is a very narrow spiral staircase (that was pitch dark in the middle). Tanka did a great job climbing and descending it.

The stone walls and vaulted ceiling on the first floor of the Prior's House.

View of the Cloisters where the monk's would walk, study, and meditate.

The fireplace the last Prior had added to the chapel in his house so he could stay warm during services (this helps to substantiate claims that the monks became soft, and lived lives that were too luxurious).

The altar in the chapel in the Prior's House. Can you see the painting on the wall?

The boys.

The Outhouses.

Inside the Outhouses. There were 24 toilets along the sides. A river ran below to carry the waste away. There were two entrances: one on the ground floor, one on the second for entry during the night by the monks.

The inside of the church. Each pillar had unique decorations.

The altar in the church. It's always amazing to stand in places that were once so holy.

See the pillars? It is so unique to see the outer stone that made the pillars aesthetically pleasing. Often (across the country) we only get to see the stones that comprised the inside of the pillars.

The boys walking what what have been the aisle of the church.

Flooring that remains intact inside the church.