Weeting Castle is a ruined, medieval manor house near the village of Weeting in Norfolk, England. It was built around 1180 by Hugh de Plais, and comprised a three-storey tower, a substantial hall, and a service block, with a separate kitchen positioned near the house. A moat was later dug around the site in the 13th century. The house was not fortified, although it drew on architectural features typically found in castles of the period, and instead formed a very large, high-status domestic dwelling. It was probably intended to resemble the hall at Castle Acre Castle, owned by Hugh's feudal lord, Hamelin de Warenne. Weeting Castle ceased to be used in the late 14th century and fell into decay. The ruins formed an ornamental feature in the grounds of nearby Weeting Hall from 1770 onwards, and passed into the ownership of the state in 1926 when the government acquired the surrounding estate. The site is now managed by English Heritage and open to visitors. 10th–13th centuries Weeting Castle is located around north of the village of Weeting in Norfolk, England. There was an earlier Anglo-Saxon settlement at the site in the 10th century, but the castle itself was built around 1180 by Hugh de Plais. Hugh acquired the estate following his marriage to Philippa Montfichet, where he then constructed a very large, stone manor house. The new building was probably intended to resemble the hall at the centre of Castle Acre Castle, then being redeveloped by Hugh's feudal lord, Hamelin de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey. Hugh's manor house was around across and comprised three sections running south to north: a chamber block, the main hall, and a service wing. The chamber block, or tower, was three storeys tall, with thick walls made from flint rubble and ashlar. The ground floor formed an undercroft, supporting a solar — a set of private chambers — above. The chamber block would have been entered by an external staircase at the first floor, and an internal newel staircase in the north-west corner linked the different floors. Although not fortified, the tower drew on the architectural traditions of earlier castle keeps and great towers. The two-storey tall hall was in size internally, with two wooden arcades running down each side, forming narrow aisles along which benches would have run. A raised dais at the northern end, framed by blind stone arcading, would have supported