Motte and bailey and enclosure c150 feet diameter surrounded by ditch with horseshoe-shaped earthwork. 100 yards from it to north-east a rectangular enclosure surrounded by a low bank 260 feet by 13 feet - beside this a knoll known as Hangman's Hill.
R. R. Clarke
1850.
Earthworks discovered while felling a wood. A piece of oak, possibly from a bridge support, was found.
The castle may have been destroyed by D'Albini in favour of Old Buckenham.
Information from Bryant.
Reported to the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society by Mr. S. W. Rix on 2 May 1850 (S1).
See also (S2) and (S3).
1948. Casual Find
Fragment of flattish upper stone of conglomerate rotary quern - East Anglian Type.
Information from
1949.
Medieval sherds found.
1951.
Cropmarks noted.
1971.
Roman sherds found.
1984.
Medieval sherds found.
Schedule, correspondence, location map, press cutting in file, large hanging plan.
1993. Earthwork Survey.
Full survey at 1:200 carried out for National Trust.
This work is noted in (S6) and (S7).
D. Gurney (NLA), 12 December 1997. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 24 January 2017.
1999. Earthwork Survey.
Survey at 1:1000, incorporating additional information onto a reduced copy of the NAU survey of 1993.
See report (S8) for plan and further details. This site was included in (S9) and the survey is also noted in (S10).
B. Cushion (NLA), November 1999. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 1 April 2015.
(S11) suggests that this was built by the D'Albinis between 1088 and 1254.
D. Gurney (NLA), 14 May 2003.
2005. Found in bare soil on motte.
Fifteen late 11th to 12th century pot sherds.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 16 January 2006.
January 2005. Metal-detecting. [1].
Roman rotary quern fragment.
3 medieval pottery sherds.
1 medieval/post-medieval pottery sherd.
Information from PAS import.
A. Beckham (HES), 3 July 2015.
--- | Designation: [unknown]. Ancient Monuments Form. SAM Record. DNF32. |
--- | Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TM 28 NE 2 [2]; TM 28 NE 12. |
--- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
--- | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1996. Volunteer help for access to castle. 27 December. |
--- | Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Roman. Denton [2]. |
--- | Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Medieval. Denton [2]. |
--- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
--- | Fiche: Exists. |
--- | Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service. |
--- | Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Miscellaneous. Denton. |
<S1> | Article in Serial: 1855. Appendix. Extracts from the Proceedings of the Committee. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol VI pp 341-366. p 346. |
<S2> | Article in Serial: Hempnall, R. 1860. Norfolk Antiquities. The East Anglian or Notes and queries on subjects connected with the counties of Suffolk, Cambridge, Essex and Norfolk. Vol I No 7 p 89. |
<S3> | Article in Serial: Manning, C. R.. 1884. Earthworks at the 'Castle Hill', Darrow Wood, Denton, Norfolk. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol IX pp 335-342. pp 335-336. |
<S4> | Article in Serial: Kenyon, K.. 1950. Excavations at Breedon on the Hill, 1946. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. Vol XXVI. |
<S5> | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1990. Eastern Daily Press. 28 March. |
<S6> | Article in Serial: Gurney, D. (ed.). 1994. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 1993. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLII Pt I pp 115-123. p 117. |
<S7> | Article in Serial: Nenk, B. S., Margeson, S. and Hurley, M. 1994. Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1993. Medieval Archaeology. Vol XXXVIII pp 184-293. p 234. |
<S8> | Unpublished Report: Cushion, B. 1999. Denton Castle SMR 11047. Earthwork Survey Report. |
<S9> | Monograph: Cushion, B. and Davison, A. 2003. Earthworks of Norfolk. East Anglian Archaeology. No 104. p 168. |
<S10> | Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 2000. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 1999. Norfolk Archaeology. XLIII Pt III pp 521-543. p 525. |
<S11> | Monograph: Liddiard, R.. 2000. Landscapes of Lordship: Norman castles and the countryside in medieval Norfolk, 1066-1200.. British Archaeological Reports British Series. 309. pp 98-101. |