A motte with a wooden tower was probably the first type of castle built by the Normans on the site. Hugh Bigod owned Framlingham at the time.

King Henry II confiscated the four castles that belonged to the rebellious Earl Bigod of East Anglia. These were Framlingham, Bungay, Walton and Thetford. Walton Castle has been destroyed by coastal erosion and may have been a Saxon shore fort that was repaired and reused in the time of the Normans. ^[1]

King Henry II had confiscated Framlingham Castle from the rebellious Earl Hugh Bigod. But Hugh raised the money required to buy back the castle. Henry built the castle at Orford, a few miles to the south, to keep Hugh under control.

King Henry II, had the castle at Orford built in Norfolk between 1166 and 1172, to counter the threats of Hugh Bigod and to confront his castle fortress at Framlingham. ^[2]

The baronial rebellion against King Henry II started in 1173 and finished at the battle of Alnwick 1174. It was started by the king's eldest son, the young Henry who went to France to ask the French king, Louis VII to have his father removed from the throne. In England the barons rose up against King Henry and were assisted by the Scottish king, William I.  ^[2]

During the rebellion against Henry II, Earl Hugh Bigod brought in many Flemish fighters but the citizens of Norwich opposed him and in return the Earl attacked and set fire to the city before returning to his castle.