Following on from my last post, I have decided to put down some of the details that I have over the years collected. The Norfolk Archaeological Trust owns the Roman Fort site (as I recall) whilst the actual flint walls themselves are in the care of English Heritage. From meetings that I have attended with Dr. Wade-Martins, I believe the actual size of the site to extend to some 90 hectares. The reed beds on the foreshore of the fort also being included in the estate.


There are only three of the original walls left standing. The west wall either having fallen into the water of the River Waveney or, more likely, being used in the construction of the St. Peter and St. Paul church to the North of the site. The walls are built of flint and mortar interspersed with red Roman tile. The walls are cornered with round bastions which would have had a wooden super-structure atop them. The gate in the east wall makes for a wonderful sunrise as the sun shines directly through it. The missing west wall allows for romantic sunsets on warm, summer evenings.

The Norfolk Archaeological Trust website states:

Burgh Castle was built in the late third or early fourth centuries as part of a string of forts around the south and east coasts stretching from Porchester in Hampshire to Brancaster in north Norfolk.  The fort now overlooks a large expanse of grazing marshes to the west which once formed a great inland estuary.  Breydon Water is the last remnant of that estuary today.

There is considerable evidence for Anglo-Saxon activity in and around the fort, including what may be the monastery of a seventh-century saint, St Fursey.  Later, when the Normans came they built a castle in the south west corner, although little of that remains after it was levelled in the eighteenth century.

The reed beds below the fort provide a breeding ground for bearded tits, reed and sedge warblers and water rail.  A large gathering of yellow wagtail use the reed beds as a roost in late summer and early autumn.  Marsh and Hen Harriers frequent the area in winter and there have been sightings of bittern and Cetti's warbler.  A pair of Marsh Harriers nested successfully in the reed beds for the first time in 1999.  The tidal mudflats support a variety of wild fowl and waders.  Shooting is prohibited on Trust property and the birds clearly benefit from the tranquil surroundings which the  Trust can provide on this property.

The new visitors centre (currently under construction and marked on the Feature Map of Burgh Castle) will allow more visitors to have access to this wonderful site. I have spent many, many happy hours at the site, just gazing out over the river and marshes. The map below from NAT shows some of the archaeology.