Caister-on-Sea
Caister Castle - which lies a few miles inland from
Caister - was originally built by Sir John Fastolf.
Caister Castle Shakespeare used the name for his character Sir
John Falstaff - who appeared in Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2. After the death of Sir John the castle
passed into the hands of John Paston (1421-1466) -
however the will was disputed and John had to go to
London to petition. In fact, John Paston spent the rest
of his life trying to assert his claim to the castle. He
was imprisoned three times in the Fleet gaol in the
process. While John was in London Margaret took charge
of the family's affairs in Norfolk and wrote to her
husband frequently to keep him informed of events. John
was a very meticulous man and (fortunately) kept all of
her letters and even added his own notes on them to help
him with his replies. Here
is a passage from one of Margaret's letters - written
this time to her son John Paston II - at a time when
Caister Castle was under siege:
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