Thetford Warren Lodge, Thetford Forest

Thetford Warren's lodge was so impressive that some archaeologists have suggested that it could have been linked directly to Thetford Priory, perhaps being used to entertain guests of the Prior.

Following the Conquest, the Norman lords of England were keen to gain the right of free warren – the royal privilege to fence off an area of land to be used exclusively for hunting small game. The Normans also introduced the coney (rabbit) to England. The rabbit was indigenous to southern Europe and did not initially take well to the damp British climate. They were pampered by their keepers, who sheltered them in small enclosures, providing food and protection from native predators. Eventually, the rabbits acclimatised and spread out into the vast, sandy open warrens. For centuries, these warrens were zealously guarded by their keepers – the warreners, who were employed by the manorial lords to manage the stock and defend it from highly organised gangs of armed poachers. These warreners lived in fortified stone lodges, typically constructed on high ground within the warren to maintain an uninterrupted lookout across the landscape.