IWalls & gates · listed 1987Castle Acre Bailey GateOn the list as Bailey GatePhoto: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bailey Gate · Photo: Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0–Not graded
History of Castle Acre · Historic England
21 listed buildings, 3 of them Grade I
Historic England counts them inside Castle Acre’s built-up area, 244 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 2 scheduled monuments. 29% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 3 of its listed buildings.
Listed buildings
21
244 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
3
exceptional interest
Grade II*
1
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
2
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
29%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Landmarks of Castle Acre
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Church of St JamesGrade I listed
Remains of Gatehouse of Cluniac Benedictine Priory of St Mary and St Peter and St PaulGrade I listedPhotos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.
The map
Where Castle Acre’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Grade IGrade II*Scheduled monument
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
21 listed buildings by grade
3 Grade I1 Grade II*17 Grade II
Historic England lists buildings in three grades: Grade I for buildings of exceptional interest (about 2.5% of all listed buildings), Grade II* for particularly important buildings of more than special interest (about 5.8%), and Grade II for buildings of special interest (about 91.7%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.
Every entry on the National Heritage List for England whose point lies inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings.
Grade I
The 3 Grade I listed buildings in Castle Acre
Buildings of exceptional interest, about 2.5% of all listed buildings. Every one is photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
IChurch · listed 1960Church of St JamesPhoto: Gordon Hatton · CC BY-SA 2.0
IWalls & gates · listed 1987Remains of Gatehouse of Cluniac Benedictine Priory of St Mary and St Peter and St PaulPhoto: Gordon Hatton · CC BY-SA 2.0
Grade II*
The Grade II* listed building in Castle Acre
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
House · listed 1960Tudor Lodgings and Attached Service Wing/Cottage
What’s protected
Most of Castle Acre’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas11
Inns, shops & warehouses3
Walls, gates & bridges3
Churches, chapels & priories2
Public & civic buildings1
Street furniture1
11 entries (52%) are houses, terraces and villas. 2 are churches, chapels and priories, including 1 of the 3 Grade I buildings.
Buildings are sorted by words in each entry’s name (church, gate, inn, memorial…): the list’s open data has no building type. An entry named only by its address counts as a house.
Grade II
17 Grade II listed buildings
Most listed buildings are in this grade, which covers buildings of special interest. Open any building to read its official list entry.
All 17 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Abbey CottageAbbot HouseAlbert Victor Public HouseBarn 25 Metres East South East of Tudor LodgingsCastle Acre and Newton War MemorialDovecote 25 Metres South East of Tudor LodgingsK6 Telephone KioskNumbers 1-3 Bailey Gate Cottages and Hill CottageThe Old FoundryThe Old Tea ShopThe Ostrich Public House with Attached Cottage at EastThe Stone BarnWestern HouseWillow Cottage12 and 14, High Street15 and 16, St James's Green63 and 64, Bailey Street
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 52% of Castle Acre
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Castle Acre25 ha
25 hain conservation areas, of 48 ha inside the built-up area.
21 of the 21 listed buildings stand in one.
Historic England’s conservation areas layer, supplied by councils (incomplete in places, so a page fact, never graded). Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.
How the list grew
More than half of Castle Acre’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1987
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1987 · 14
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 1 entry was listed in 1951. 14 came in 1987, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 1 has been added in the last 15 years.
Monuments & landscapes
Monuments, parks and gardens
Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.
2 scheduled monuments
Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Secretary of State, advised by Historic England.
Homes by age
29% of Castle Acre’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
27%
Before 1900
2.3%
1900–18
1.6%
1919–29
3.7%
1930s
6.8%
1945–54
6.8%
1955–64
9.8%
1965–72
5.4%
1973–82
6.8%
1983–92
8.4%
1993–99
6.8%
2000–08
6.1%
2009–15
9.1%
2016–25
Castle AcreEngland & Wales
27% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1965–72, which added 9.8% of today’s homes.
Valuation Office Agency, council tax stock of properties by build period, 31 March 2025, for the neighbourhoods (LSOAs) that make up the town, split by where their residents live. Homes with no recorded build period (7 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Castle Acre
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Acre | 859 | 21 | 3 | — |
| Swaffham | 8,434 | 102 | 2 | B+ |
| Narborough | 1,362 | 7 | 1 | C+ |
| Necton | 1,742 | 6 | 1 | C |
| Gayton | 1,522 | 8 | 1 | B− |
| Marham | 2,608 | 9 | 1 | C |
| Ashill | 1,252 | 2 | 1 | C |
| Saham Toney | 1,287 | 6 | 1 | B− |
In brief
Castle Acre in brief
Old houses are part of Castle Acre’s character: 29% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. All told, the list holds 21 listed buildings, 3 of them Grade I. Its Grade I buildings cluster together: 3 of them stand within 400 m of Church of St James. A conservation area protects part of it.
Most entries on the list, 52%, are houses, terraces and villas. The big year was 1987, when 14 of the 21 went on the list. Beyond that, it also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Questions about Castle Acre’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Castle Acre?
Historic England lists 21 buildings inside Castle Acre’s built-up area: 3 Grade I, 1 Grade II* and 17 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Castle Acre?
3, including Bailey Gate, Church of St James and Remains of Gatehouse of Cluniac Benedictine Priory of St Mary and St Peter and St Paul.
Are there scheduled monuments in Castle Acre?
Yes, 2 scheduled monuments, including Castle Acre Castle, town defences and Bailey Gate and Castle Acre Priory.
How many conservation areas are there in Castle Acre?
1, covering about 25 hectares of the town. The largest is Castle Acre.
When were Castle Acre’s buildings listed?
The first in 1951; the most, 14, in 1987.
How old are the homes in Castle Acre?
29% of homes were built before 1919 and 35% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).
Castle Acre has no History Grade.
© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The National Heritage List for England is the official, up-to-date register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England; check an entry on Historic England’s website before relying on it.
Sources: Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only · Historic England conservation areas (supplied by local planning authorities; October 2026). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.