NHER 25989 (Monument record) - Cropmarks and low earthworks of enclosure, possibly the site of a late Saxon manor

20 June 1990 & 11 June 1992. NAU air photography.
Cropmarks of enclosure (ovoid) and road (two parallel ditches inside, and crossing out of enclosure).
Site partly cut by old pit.
D. Edwards (NLA), 21 January 1991.

Falls within large scatter NHER 12588.
E. Rose (NAU).

November 2007. Norfolk NMP.
A cropmark of a sub-oval curvilinear enclosure is visible on aerial photographs (S1-S8). This enclosure has also previously been recorded as part of NHER 12588 and is located a short distance to the north of St Mary’s Church (NHER 2835). It measures 109m by 80m externally and is defined by a ditch measuring up to 8m in width. The ditch cropmark appears to be continuous, with no obvious gap for an entrance. Late Saxon and medieval pottery has been found in the same field as this enclosure (NHER 12588). The curvilinear form and dimensions of this enclosure, along with its proximity to the church means that it is directly comparable to Late Saxon manorial enclosures known from elsewhere in the country (S9). This enclosure cropmark is particularly similar to one excavated at Goltho in Lincolnshire (S10) and it is probable that it also relates to a Late Saxon manorial site. Inside the enclosure are linear ditch cropmarks. These include three sides of a roughly west to east aligned rectangular feature measuring at least 49m long by 7m wide. The parallel long sides of this feature have previously been interpreted as ditches defining a road cutting across the enclosure, partly because the ditches were thought to continue to the west, outside of the enclosure. However, the ditches outside of the enclosure lie on a slightly different alignment and it is likely that the rectangular feature inside the enclosure relates to a building or structure. Although the dimensions are rather too large for this cropmark to represent a single rectangular building, it is likely that it represents a range of superimposed buildings. A similar range of superimposed buildings, measuring 40m in length, was excavated at Goltho (S10). It is possible that some of the other cropmarks within the enclosure also relate to buildings, but they are too incomplete for this to be certain.

The interpretation of the enclosure as a manorial site is further supported by a 1624 estate map of Gressenhall (S11). Although the enclosure itself is not marked on the map, it lay within an area of the park (NHER 50576) called 'Mannor Yard’s'. A kink in the northern boundary of Mannor Yards appears to respect the northwest corner of the enclosure, suggesting that it may have survived as a landscape feature at that time. A former pit of possible late 19th century date, probably for gravel extraction, is located immediately to the southeast of the enclosure. The northwest side of the pit appears to respect the line of the enclosure ditch, again suggesting that it may have existed in some form, perhaps as an earthwork, when the pit was excavated.

Cropmarks of other features and enclosures (NHER 50669) are present to the south and west of the curvilinear enclosure. It is likely that they are of Late Saxon to medieval date, but they do not appear to be directly related to the enclosure.
Also see (S12).
J. Albone (NMP), 9 November 2007.

September 2009. Geophysical survey.
As part of a project T. Hall (UEA) conducted a geophysical survey of the site comparing the results from resistivity and magnetometry survey for the detection of archaeological sites.
See (S13).
S. Howard (NLA), 16 March 2010.

April 2024. Wendling Beck and Fransham Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AIM) Project (volunteer strand).
The possible Late Saxon to medieval manorial site described above is partially visible as low earthworks on visualised lidar data, from a survey flown in 2017 (S14). Parts of the oval ditch can be seen, along with a number of poorly defined internal mounds. These could be building platforms, internal banks or a larger raised area within the enclosure. As the lidar survey was flown relatively recently, it is probable that the earthworks still survive. At the same time, an association with the modern extraction pit to the southeast of the enclosure cannot be ruled out.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 16 April 2024.