Dilham Castle

Dilham Castle stands in the quiet village of Dilham, a few kilometres from Stalham in Norfolk. Built in the 15th century by Sir Henry Inglose, it was designed as a fortified manor house with two pentagonal towers and an outer wall of flint and brick. Inglose had fought in France under Henry V and later married Anne de Gyney, whose family held land in Dilham. The castle once formed part of a larger estate that included nearby Caister Castle. Only one tower and a section of the wall survive today. The remains now lie within Hall Farm and are protected as a grade II listed building and a scheduled monument. By 1904 the tower had been partly rebuilt using modern brick and cement to keep it standing. English Heritage judged the site in poor condition in 2009 because climbing plants had weakened the structure. Despite its ruined state, the castle still shows how Inglose’s home would have looked half a millennium ago. Visitors find the single surviving tower rising above farm buildings, its flint and brickwork weathered by time. A short walk around the farmyard reveals the low remains of the outer wall and the base of the second tower. The setting is peaceful, with fields stretching beyond the farm gate. The castle’s modest scale makes it easy to take in during a brief stop. Its quiet presence recalls the power once held by Inglose and his family.