NHER 29575 (Monument record) - Site of undated rectangular enclosure, perhaps relating to settlement, west of Redwing Farm

The Norfolk Heritage Explorer is a filtered version of the Norfolk HER intended for casual research. Please to consult the full record.

See also further .

Summary

Part of a rectangular enclosure of unknown date, together with several associated ditches, is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The site shares a number of characteristics, including its orientation and somewhat rounded corners, with part of a probable settlement site 200m to its southeast (NHER 50727); this settlement may extend for some distance to the south and southwest, following the line of a former trackway or road (now partially followed by the parish boundary; see NHER 50729, for example). It probably dates to the late medieval and/or early post medieval period, when it may have occupied a common-edge location in relation to Mousehold Heath to its southeast. A similar date is plausible for the site described here, although as for the settlement as a whole, its form is such that an Iron Age to Roman period date cannot be ruled out entirely. A possible second rectangular enclosure 45m to the north (NHER 50723) may be a contemporary feature.

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Location

Map sheet TG21SE
Civil Parish SALHOUSE, BROADLAND, NORFOLK

Map

17 July 1986. NAU aerial photography.
Rectangular enclosure.
See (S1).
D. Edwards (NAU).

Note what appears to be three open trenches across one side of the enclosure.
?Some co-incidental agricultural operation??
E. Rose (NLA) 22 March 1993.

19 June 1996. NLA aerial photography.
Rectangular enclosure still visible.
See (S2).
S. Massey (NLA) 13 August 2001.

December 2007. Norfolk NMP.
Three sides of the rectangular enclosure described above are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs (S2)-(S6), centred at TG 2930 1498. Its eastern side may have been truncated by a modern pipeline, see (S3). Several linear ditches which share the same alignment are also visible and are presumably contemporary; others, which represent a different phase of activity, are recorded separately, e.g. as NHER 50726. The enclosure shares a number of characteristics, including its orientation and somewhat rounded corners, with part of a probable settlement site 200m to its southeast (NHER 50727); this settlement may extend for some distance to the south and southwest, following the line of a former trackway or road (now partially followed by the parish boundary; see NHER 50729, for example). It probably dates to the late medieval and/or early post medieval period, when it may have occupied a common-edge location in relation to Mousehold Heath to its southeast. A similar date is plausible for the site described here, although, as for the settlement as a whole, its form is such that an Iron Age to Roman period date cannot be ruled out entirely. A possible second rectangular enclosure 45m to the north (NHER 50723) may be a contemporary feature. The proximity of a substantial ring ditch, perhaps a post-mill site, 40m to the southeast (NHER 50718), may also be significant. As suggested above, the trench-like features visible in 1986 (S4)-(S5) are almost certainly modern in origin. Other pit-like features visible within the enclosure are more likely to reflect the underlying geology than genuine archaeological features.

The enclosure is rectangular in plan and measures 57.5m wide and at least 85m long.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 10 December 2007.

  • --- Unpublished Contractor Report: Kenyon, R. and Brown, H. 2021. Geophysical Survey Report. Rackheath, Broadland, Norfolk. Magnitude Surveys. MSTG937.
  • <S1> Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.. 1986. TG 2915D-G, H-J 17-JUL-1986.
  • <S2> Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1996. NHER TG 2914G-H (NLA 361/JDP10-1) 19-JUN-1996.
  • <S3> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Meridian Airmaps Limited. 1976. MAL 76053 169-70 29-JUN-1976 (NMR).
  • <S4> Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1986. NHER TG 2915D-G (NLA 180/DBU26-9) 17-JUL-1986.
  • <S5> Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1986. NHER TG 2915H-S (NLA 180/DBW1-10) 17-JUL-1986.
  • <S6> Vertical Aerial Photograph: BKS. 1988. BKS 0134-5 07-AUG-1988 (NCC 3279-80).

Object Types (0)

Record last edited

Sep 5 2025 4:20PM

Comments and Feedback

Your feedback is welcome; if you can provide any new information about this record, please contact the Norfolk Historic Environment Record.