Caister Castle

Abstract

Caister Castle (see air view, pi. xvi,a) stands on the low ground about half a mile north-west of the little village of West Caister, one and a half miles from the rapidly encroaching sea, and some four miles from Great Yarmouth. Interest has always attached to the castle owing to the facts that it was built by the famous Sir John Fastolf, and that it played a part in the chequered fortunes of the Paston family, so brilliantly illuminated by their correspondence. The ruins, with their tall, slender tower, have also attracted attention as an early and splendid example of the use of brick; and we hope to show that the affinities of the castle lie in a quarter hitherto unsuspected, and that it is an important architectural document in the history of the cultural relationships of England during the first half of the fifteenth century.