A 3d model of Gresham Castle was one of the requirements set out in the Paston Footprints project.

 

Gresham Castle was one of four major Paston places to be fully modeled, the others being Bromholme Priory, Paston Hall, and Oxnead Hall.

 

The castle is really a fortified manor house and much uncertainty remains about its origins and development.

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The manor of Gresham was bought by William Paston in 1427. Previously, the manor was held by Sir Edmund Bacon and following his death, the manor was divided equally between his two daughters.

 

A generation later, Thomas Chaucer (son of the poet) inherited one-half of the manor through marriage and subsequently arranged the sale of the entire manor to William Paston.

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William then gave the manor to his son, John, in 1444. Following William's death shortly after, John and his wife, Margaret, endured the 'siege of Gresham' which has become one the most notable events in the Paston story. 

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Gresham Castle was left in a ruinous state, but the Paston letters suggest it was being rebuilt twenty years later by John's sons. However, it seems to have been finally abandoned not long afterward as the Pastons' circumstances and priorities changed.

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The lack of archaeological evidence has left plenty of scope as to whether the flint walls and towers were built by the Pastons or by Sir Edmund Bacon, therefore uncertainty remains as to whether the timber-framed house and the walls were contemporaneous.

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The reconstruction is rather an unsatisfactory blend of all possibilities, but even so, the visualisation of Gresham Castle has created a renewed interest in one of the most undervalued sites in Norfolk.

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Find out more about the Paston story at the thisispaston website.

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