Middleton Castle

1455
Thomas Scales, 7th Baron Scales, an influential figure in the Wars of the Roses, begins construction of a fortified manor on this quiet stretch of Norfolk land. The moat is dug, the walls raised, and the embattled parapets take shape against the Norfolk sky.

1460
Scales never sees it finished. Having held the Tower of London for the Lancastrian King Henry VI, he is captured and killed by Yorkist wherrymen whilst fleeing its siege. The castle is completed by his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Anthony Woodville, whose family coat of arms still appears above the oriel window on the south face of the gatehouse today.

1464-1483
When Woodville’s sister marries King Edward IV, the family’s fortunes soar. But history repeats itself; in 1483, Woodville is beheaded at Pontefract Castle by order of Richard Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III. In the course of less than thirty years, the castle passes through four of the greatest families in England: Scales, Woodville, Howard, and de Vere.

1622-1700
After almost 150 years in the hands of the de Vere family, the manor was sold and passed through several owners in quick succession. By 1700 it was largely derelict: its gatehouse standing roofless, immortalised in engravings as a romantic ivy-clad ruin.

1855
Banker and MP Sir Winthrop Lewis Jarvis purchases the castle and embarks on a major restoration, adding an extensive wing in the mid-Victorian fashion. The Ramsden family later added a west wing in 1905, panelling the rooms and restoring the building’s baronial atmosphere.

1960-Present
The castle passes to the Barclay family, who have been its custodians ever since; four generations who have lived within its walls, maintained its grounds, and kept its stories alive. Today, under the stewardship of Tom Barclay, the castle opens its gates to guests looking for an experience that cannot be replicated.