Baconsthorpe village in Norfolk, England, UK.
A tiny village hides a bustling community within. The village of Baconsthorpe got its name as the village, thorpe, belonging to the Norman overlord Bacon. A lawyer who made his money during the War of the Roses, Sir John Heydon, put a great deal of his money into new property in Baconsthorpe.
The remains of Baconsthorpe Castle still tell fascinating tales of a familys changing fortunes. This grand castle gives off a sense of permanence and pride that puts it outside the interesting ruins you so often come across. Legend tells there is an underground passage running under the moat from a turret in the ruins of this castle.
However, it was found recently that it was a sewer ending in the moat! In the 17th Century it became the centre of a vast sheep run and it was transformed to house a wool industry. Much of it was demolished after the Civil War and the some of the stone was sold to nearby Felbrigg. The memory of the Heydon family is kept alive in the beautiful church with brass portraits, monuments and windows.
The church has a screen which was rescued from a loft in Bessingham which was carved over 500 years ago with cherubs. An urn was dug up in 1878 on the estate of J.T. Mott, Esq., which contained about 10,000 coins dating from 237 A.D. to Victorianus 260 A.D.
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