NHER 3457 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Earthworks of an enclosure and ditches of possible medieval to post medieval date, possibly the site of a park lodge
The Norfolk Heritage Explorer is a filtered version of the Norfolk HER intended for casual research. Please contact us to consult the full record.
See also further guidance on using the Norfolk Heritage Explorer website.
Summary
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Location
| Map sheet | TF61SE |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | WORMEGAY, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
Map
Full Description
Moated site, destroyed, according to [1], who claims to have found two 13th to 14th century sherds here (date?).
July 1975. Visit.
This is now a gravel pit and nothing at all remains.
E. Rose (NAU), 15 July 1975.
(S1) says that the Manor stood 'in the park north of the church'; here? Photocopy of part of old map shown by Mr Hines (S2?) marks this site as 'Woodhouse' and Park Farm as 'Park Farm and Manor House'. But Park Farm shown simply as such on (S3), with no Woodhouse (1797). Suggest Faden wrong in omitting Woodhouse (he omits other sizeable houses) and that Park Farm became the manor in about 1800 to 1820 when other building abandoned.
E. Rose (NAU).
Fenland code WGY 13.
Outline of moat marked on record map from overlay by R. J. Silvester (NAU), taken from Hunting Survey aerial photographs (details?); he suggests site may have been buried by spoil heaps, not destroyed.
E. Rose (NAU), 29 January 1987.
For full details of wares, flint types, etc. see Fenland Folders (S4).
October 2007. ALSF NHER Enhancement Sub-Unit D.
WGY 13.
At the eastern tip of the island, within the park, a moated site with associated but less intelligible earthworks, is visible on aerial photographs. This has since been destroyed by gravel extraction but a local fieldworker claimed to have found 13th and 14th century pottery there. That this small moat succeeded the castle as the manorial centre for Wormegay seems unlikely. Rather an interpretation as a park lodge seem more appropriate.
Information from (S5).
M. Dennis (NLA), 1 October 2007.
December 2007. Norfolk NMP
Earthworks of linear ditches and an enclosure are visible on aerial photographs (S6). Three sides of a rectangular ditch-defined enclosure are visible on aerial photographs taken in 1946 (S6). It is possible that it is an enclosure of medieval to post medieval date possibly assocaied with a park lodge. The enclosure has previously been interpreted as a moat. However, the narrowness of the ditches and its relationship to adjacent earthworks means that this does not appear to be the case. A more convincing, albeit ephemeral, moat earthwork is recorded at Park Farm (NHER 50754) and that is more likely to have been a manor site, if one existed in the eastern part of the parish.
As stated above, the earthworks recorded as part of this site have been destroyed or buried by gravel extraction activity (S7). Other earthworks within the former park are recorded to the south (NHER 20684).
J. Albone (NMP), 19 December 2007
Associated Sources (10)
- --- SNF87263 Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Medieval. Wormegay.
- --- SNF57722 Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
- --- SNF57204 Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TF 61 SE 23.
- <S1> SNF4912 Monograph: Bryant, T. H. 1904. Hundred of Clackclose. The Churches of Norfolk. Vol XIII. p 345.
- <S2> SNF4947 Map: Bryant, A.. 1826. Bryant's Map of Norfolk.
- <S3> SNF6047 Publication: Faden, W. and Barringer, J. C. 1989. Faden's Map of Norfolk in 1797.
- <S4> SNF58493 Archive: Fenland Folders.
- <S5> SNF8173 Monograph: Silvester, R. J. 1988. The Fenland Project Number 3: Marshland and Nar Valley, Norfolk. East Anglian Archaeology. No 45. p 148.
- <S6> SNF69330 Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK/1606 4319-20 27-JUN-1946 (NMR).
- <S7> SNF69331 Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1971. OS/71021 167-8 22-MAR-1971 (NMR).
Site and Feature Types and Periods (6)
Object Types (1)
- POT (Medieval - 1200 AD to 1399 AD)
Related NHER Records (1)
Find out more...(1)
Record last edited
Oct 17 2025 6:30AM