# Castle Acre

Castle Acre is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
The village is located on the course of the River Nar, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) north of Swaffham and 26 miles (42 km) west of Norwich.

## History

Castle Acre's name is of Anglo-Saxon and Norman origin and derives from the Old English and Norman French for a castle close to cultivated land.
The village is most famous for being the location of Castle Acre Castle which was built in 1085 by William de Warenne in order to enforce his control over his East Anglian lands. By the 12th century, the castle passed into the ownership of Hamelin Plantagenet who hosted both King Henry II and King Edward I in Castle Acre. By the 16th century, the castle lay mainly derelict yet had a procession of illustrious owners including Thomas Howard, Thomas Cecil and Sir Edward Coke. Today, the castle is maintained by English Heritage.
In the Domesday Book, Castle Acre is listed with West Acre as a settlement of 130 households in the hundred of Freebridge. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of William de Warenne, St. Etheldreda's Abbey and Ralph de Tosny.
Furthermore, Castle Acre is home to the ruins of Castle Acre Priory which was established in 1090 by William de Warenne for an order of Cluniac monks. The monastery fell into disrepair after Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. The priory is maintained by English Heritage.

## Geography

According to the 2021 census, the population of Castle Acre is 862 people which shows a slight increase from the 848 people listed in the 2011 census.
The village is located on the course of the River Nar and close to the A1065, between Mildenhall and Fakenham.

## St. James' Church

Castle Acre's parish church is dedicated to Saint James and dates to the Fourteenth Century. St. James' is located at the junction between High Street and South Acre and has been a Grade I listed building since 1960. The churchtower was largely rebuilt in the Fifteenth Century in the Perpendicular style with a further restoration in the 1870s by Ewan Christian. The church boasts an ornate font cover and a painted pulpit with damage from firearms dating from the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.
Within the church are memorials to Corporal Michael Brown of the Life Guards who was killed in an armoured car accident during the Cyprus Emergency, Lieutenant Alan E. Hudson who was killed serving aboard HMS Pearl and Clare S. Hudson who was killed serving aboard SS Tofua.

## Notable Residents

* William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey- (1035–1088) Norman nobleman, lived in Castle Acre.
* Gundred, Countess of Surrey- (???-1085) Flemish noblewoman, died in Castle Acre.
* William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey- (???-1138) Anglo-Norman nobleman, lived in Castle Acre.
* Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey- (1130–1202) Anglo-Angevin nobleman, lived in Castle Acre.
* Thomas Howard KG, 4th Duke of Norfolk- (1536–1572) nobleman and politician, lived in Castle Acre.
* Thomas Cecil KG, 1st Earl of Exeter- (1542–1623) politician, courtier and soldier, lived in Castle Acre.
* Sir Edward Coke- (1552–1634) barrister, judge and politician, lived in Castle Acre.

## Governance

Castle Acre is part of the electoral ward of Massingham with Castle Acre for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is North West Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild MP since 2010.

## War Memorial

Castle Acre's war memorial is shared with nearby Newton is a granite wheel-headed cross located in St. James' Churchyard which was unveiled in 1923. The memorial lists the following names of individuals from Castle Acre for the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial |
| Capt. | Bernard Beck MC | 3rd Bn., King's Regiment | 18 Aug. 1916 | Mametz Copse Cemetery |
| Lt. | Reginald Porter | Royal Army Medical Corps | 26 Oct. 1914 | Ploegsteert Memorial |
| CSM | Phillip Moore | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 27 Jul. 1916 | Caterpillar Cemetery |
| Sgt. | Henry J. Askew DCM | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 15 Apr. 1918 | Tyne Cot |
| LCpl. | Algier Buckenham | 8th Bn., Border Regiment | 5 Jul. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| LCpl. | W. Edgar S. Grimes | 8th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps | 28 Aug. 1917 | Lijssenthoek Cemetery |
| LCpl. | Cyril J. Savage | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 27 Oct. 1917 | Hooge Crater Cemetery |
| LCpl. | Albert E. Skeet | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 11 May 1916 | Amara War Cemetery |
| LCpl. | George Moore | 7th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 17 Jul. 1917 | Canadian Cemetery No. 2 |
| Pte. | Hugh T. Buxton | 14th Bn., Argyll and Sutherland Hs. | 8 Oct. 1918 | Bandaghem Cemetery |
| Pte. | Thomas Skipper | 7th Bn., Border Regiment | 27 Jun. 1916 | Citadel New Cemetery |
| Pte. | Walter Hamblin | 8th Bn., Border Regt. | 9 Jul. 1916 | Le Cateau Cemetery |
| Pte. | Herbert Howard | 8th Bn., Border Regt. | 28 May 1916 | Écoivres Cemetery |
| Pte. | Arthur J. Sculpher | 3rd Bn., Coldstream Guards | 12 Apr. 1918 | Ploegsteert Memorial |
| Pte. | Ernest J. Archer | 7th Bn., East Surrey Regiment | 20 Nov. 1917 | Cambrai Memorial |
| Pte. | William J. Green | 1st Bn., Essex Regiment | 6 Aug. 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| Pte. | Thomas Hudson | 1st Bn., Essex Regt. | 22 Nov. 1916 | Guards Cemetery |
| Pte. | Robert Skipper | 1st Bn., Essex Regt. | 11 Aug. 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| Pte. | Arthur H. Meek | Royal Fusiliers | 27 Nov. 1918 | St. James' Churchyard |
| Pte. | G. William Ward | 13th Bn., Royal Fus. | 23 Apr. 1917 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | C. Frederick Moore | 1st Bn., King's Own Scottish Bords | 1 Aug. 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| Pte. | Robert W. Green | 2nd Bn., K.O.S.B. | 5 Feb. 1915 | R.E. Farm Cemetery |
| Pte. | Alan W. Heywood | 20th Bn., Lancashire Fusiliers | 21 Aug. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Lewis Hudson | 5th Bn., Lincolnshire Regiment | 14 Oct. 1916 | Berles Position Cemetery |
| Pte. | Henry W. Skipper | 2/5th Bn., Lincolnshire Regt. | 21 Mar. 1918 | Grévillers Cemetery |
| Pte. | Thomas E. Wright | 35th Coy., Machine Gun Corps | 30 Nov. 1917 | Cambrai Memorial |
| Pte. | William T. Pember | 4th Bn., Middlesex Regiment | 14 Nov. 1914 | Le Touret Memorial |
| Pte. | William Wicks | 1/8th Bn., Middlesex Regt. | 18 Sep. 1916 | Euston Road Cemetery |
| Pte. | William R. Sillis | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 4 Nov. 1915 | Doiran Memorial |
| Pte. | Frederick Skeet | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 20 May 1916 | Amara War Cemetery |
| Pte. | John Dawes | 1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 19 Apr. 1917 | Jerusalem Memorial |
| Pte. | William W. Long | 1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 6 Sep. 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| Pte. | George Ellis | 7th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 5 Oct. 1915 | Bethune Town Cemetery |
| Pte. | Ernest W. Mobbs | 7th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 13 Oct. 1915 | Loos Memorial |
| Pte. | E. Stapleton | 8th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 5 Oct. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | John Blowers | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 15 Sep. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | John W. Green | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 15 Sep. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Sydney G. Buxton | 2nd Bn., Northumberland Fusilers | 10 Sep. 1916 | Doiran Memorial |
| Pte. | William Willigress | 8th Bn., Suffolk Regiment | 13 Oct. 1915 | Albert Cemetery |
| Pte. | Herbert T. Williamson | 11th Bn., Suffolk Regt. | 25 Oct. 1918 | Delsaux Farm Cemetery |
And: Lewis Green, Arthur J. Stapleton, James Stapleton and Charles Turner. And, the following for Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial |
| Sgt. | Robert Vincent | 1st Bn., Worcestershire Regiment | 5 May 1941 | Khartoum Memorial |
| A1C | Robert H. Overman | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve | 10 Feb. 1944 | St. James' Churchyard |
| Cpl. | William D. Pightling | 2nd Coy., Northamptonshire Yeo. | 6 Mar. 1941 | St. James' Churchyard |
| OS | Harold Barlow | HMS Prince of Wales | 24 May 1941 | Portsmouth Naval Memorial |
| Pte. | Thomas L. Hudson | 1st Bn., Loyal Regiment | 19 Feb. 1944 | Anzio War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Kenneth Eggleton | 5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment | 15 Feb. 1942 | Kranji War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Herbert J. Howard | 6th Bn., Royal Norfolks. | 21 Sep. 1944 | Kranji War Memorial |
| Pte. | Ernest J. Nunn | 1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment | 5 Jan. 1945 | Taukkyan War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Ernest A. Turvey | 7th Bn., Ox and Bucks Light Infantry | 6 Dec. 1943 | Cassino War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Arthur Harbour | Pioneer Corps | 12 Mar. 1945 | St. James' Churchyard |
| Tpr. | John J. Gore | 49th (West Riding) Regt., R.A.C. | 29 Nov. 1944 | Maasbree RC Cemetery |