Horsford Castle is an 11th century earthwork motte and bailey fortress, founded by Robert Malet or his tenant Walter of Caen. Built on the periphery of the estate, in the centuries that followed, the castle probably became a hunting lodge or a country retreat. The low circular motte and large circular bailey are encased by deep ditches which are wet in places but on the mottes northern side, a substantial section has been removed. In the centre of the bailey, where it adjoins the motte ditch, there was a small semi-circular ditched inner barbican but this can no longer be identified. There is a square depression with an L-shaped scarp and ridge, in the centre of the motte, which could be the footprint of a building. Aerial photographs have suggested that this could be a late 12th century stone keep but there is little evidence of any such structure on the ground. Abandoned after 1431, the bailey was ploughed in the 1980s and this is one reason for the castles poor state of preservation. 5 miles south is Norwich Castle.