The impact of the Norman Conquest is writ large at Castle Acre. The tiny Norfolk village is dominated by a substantial motte-and-bailey castle, the ruins of an impressive Cluniac priory and the remains of its 12th century town defences.

The priory and nearby castle were founded by William de Warenne, a Norman knight who had fought alongside William the Conqueror. Construction of the church was a slow process. It wasn't consecrated until 1146–8, with the remainder of the site taking a further 50 years to complete. It was populated by a small community of French monks, making it one of the first monasteries of the Cluniac order in England.

In 1537, along with around 800 other similar institutions, the priory was dissolved as part of King Henry VIII’s Suppression of the Monasteries. The church was subsequently demolished and the site sold off. Ownership passed to the lawyer and politician Sir Edward Coke, in 1615, in whose family it remains today.