15th Century Norfolk castle to start £1.5m repairs

The castle has been closed for more than two years because of loose masonry

A former castle closed for more than two years is getting more than £1.5m for urgent repairs.

Baconsthorpe Castle near Holt, Norfolk, was shut because of loose masonry.

English Heritage said the money would only cover some of the repairs needed on the building.

Katie Chown, free sites partnership manager at English Heritage, said: "Baconsthorpe is particularly lovely... it's a very very popular site locally, it will be lovely to get it open again."

Cliveden Conservation's Norfolk Workshop is overseeing the repairs needed at Baconsthorpe Castle in Holt

The 15th Century castle is one of English Heritage's free-to-enter sites.

Ms Chown said: "We won't be able to do absolutely everything for that money but we are getting the most urgent things done and urgent means things where we are in danger of losing historic fabric or where there is significant health and safety issues."

Some repairs on the castle have been marked as urgent, meaning there is either danger of losing historic fabric or a health and safety issue

Cliveden Conservation's Norfolk Workshop has been overseeing the works and said the greatest challenge was the weather.

Conservator Andrea Walker said an English Heritage survey flagged that bricks near the main path visitors use to enter the site were "dangerous and at risk of falling off".

She said completion on one of the back towers of the castle should be finished in about a month's time. They will then move on to the watch towers.

English Heritage is expecting the site to reopen at the end of the year.