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BURGH CASTLE - Roman "Saxon Shore" fort near Great Yarmouth (TG 474045)

The Norfolk Archaeological Trust owns the impressive Roman fort at Burgh Castle, near Great Yarmouth, close to the River Waveney and overlooking the Halvergate Marshes. The walls of the fort are in the care of English Heritage, but the Trust owns the fort, most of the surrounding farmland and an adjacent area of reed beds, which are full of interesting bird life. The property in all covers 90 acres (37 hectares).

There can be few ancient monuments in East Anglia with a more striking location.

Burgh Castle Roman fort. In places the Roman walls probably stand to their full height. To the right is a corner bastion. On this southern section the wall face is almost perfectly preserved. © Sue White.

Three of the four sides of the fort, standing probably to their full height, represent a remarkable survival, matched by few other Roman sites in Britain.

The walls are built of flint and mortar and the wall faces are made with carefully knapped flints interspersed with layers of red Roman tile. There are massive rounded bastions at the corners and at intervals along the walls. The gate is in the middle of the east wall.

Burgh Castle was built in the late third or early fourth centuries as part of a string of forts around the south and east coasts stretching from Porchester in Hampshire to Brancaster in north Norfolk. The fort now overlooks a large expanse of grazing marshes to the west which once formed a great inland estuary. Breydon Water is the last remnant of that estuary today.

There is considerable evidence for Anglo-Saxon activity in and around the fort, including what may be the monastery of a seventh-century saint, St Fursey. Later, when the Normans came they built a castle in the south west corner, although little of that remains after it was levelled in the eighteenth century.

The reed beds below the fort provide a breeding ground for bearded tits, reed and sedge warblers and water rail. A large gathering of yellow wagtail use the reed beds as a roost in late summer and early autumn. Marsh and Hen Harriers frequent the area in winter and there have been sightings of bittern and Cetti's warbler. A pair of Marsh Harriers nested successfully in the reed beds for the first time in 1999. The tidal mudflats support a variety of wild fowl and waders. Shooting is prohibited on Trust property and the birds clearly benefit from the tranquil surroundings which the Trust can provide on this property.

The Trust has plans to construct a new car park and a small information building near the church, as well as various walks around the site, including some suitable for the disabled. There will also be a viewing area for bird watchers. Every effort will be made to ensure the tranquil beauty of the place is not disturbed by these extra facilities.

Access. Follow the signs from Great Yarmouth to Burgh Castle and park near the church or in the Church Farm pub car park nearby (until the new car park is built space is limited). Follow the signposted footpath from the church to the fort. The site is open all year round.


Burgh Castle Roman fort, church and cropmarks in the growing corn visible from the East, 1981 © Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service.	Burgh Castle Roman fort from the East. The entrance is visible in the long front wall with its projecting bastions. The wall behind overlooking the River Waveney fell into the marshes many centuries ago. © Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service.

Burgh Castle Roman fort. Close-up view of the fort from the SE. 1984 Note circular holes in the tops of the bastions. © Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service.	Burgh Castle Roman fort from the S.W. in 1949. The dark curving outline of the ditch surrounding the Norman castle motte built in the S.W. corner of the Roman fort is clearly visible in the growing corn. © Cambridge University Collection of Air Photographs: Crown copyright/MOD

Plan of Earthworks at Burgh Castle.

Burgh Castle further reading

Allen, J.R.L. & Fulford, M.G., 1999	"Fort building and Military Supply along Britain's Eastern Channel and North Sea Coasts: The Later Second and Third Centuries", Britannia XXX
Cotterill, J., 1993	"Saxon raiding and the role of the Late Roman coastal forts of Britain", Britannia XXIV
Dahl, Louis, H., 1913	The Roman Camp and the Irish Saint at Burgh Castle with Local History
Darling, M.J., & Gurney, D., 1993*	"Caister-on-Sea, excavations by Charles Green 1951- 55" East Anglian Archaeology 60 (for further information on the EAA series, see www.eaareports.org.uk ).
Hutchinson, S., 2001	Berney Arms Past and Present
Ives, J., 1774	Remarks upon the Garianonum of the Romans
Johnson, S., 1983	"Burgh Castle, excavations by Charles Gree 1958-61", East Anglian Archaeology 20
Maltster, R., 1993	The Broads
Manning, M., 1996	"Burgh Castle Cement and Brickworks", Journal of the Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society Vol.6 No.1
Pearson, A., 2002	The Roman Shore Forts
Skipper, K., & Williamson, T., 1993	The Angles Way: Walking an Historic Landscape
Wallis, H., 1998	"Excavations at Church Loke, Burgh Castle, 1993-4" Norfolk Archaeology XLIII, 62-78

* Darling & Gurney has a further extensive bibliography.

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BURGH CASTLE - Roman "Saxon Shore" fort near Great Yarmouth (TG 474045)

Burgh Castle Roman fort. In places the Roman walls probably stand to their full height. To the right is a corner bastion. On this southern section the wall face is almost perfectly preserved. © Sue White.

Burgh Castle Roman fort, church and cropmarks in the growing corn visible from the East, 1981 © Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service.

Burgh Castle Roman fort from the East. The entrance is visible in the long front wall with its projecting bastions. The wall behind overlooking the River Waveney fell into the marshes many centuries ago.

© Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service.

Burgh Castle Roman fort. Close-up view of the fort from the SE. 1984 Note circular holes in the tops of the bastions.

© Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service.

Burgh Castle Roman fort from the S.W. in 1949. The dark curving outline of the ditch surrounding the Norman castle motte built in the S.W. corner of the Roman fort is clearly visible in the growing corn.

© Cambridge University Collection of Air Photographs: Crown copyright/MOD

Plan of Earthworks at Burgh Castle.