NHER 27805 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Post medieval sea defences

October 2002. Norfolk NMP.
The earthworks of a post-medieval sea defence bank are visible in a fragmentary earthwork form on RAF aerial photographs from 1940 (S1) and 1946 (S2). The bank which would originally have been one complete earthwork runs in now disjointed sections for 3875m along the coast from TG 0592 4490 to TG 0960 4393. The bank is up to 17m wide in place, whilst in others in places only 5m across. The bank is already quite fragmentary by 1940 (S1) and this was probably not helped by the amount of military structures that were dug into it during World War Two. The subsequent storms of 1953 and since have lead to rebuilding of the structure and therefore the bank was only mapped from aerial photographs dating to 1946 and earlier. The bank is post-medieval in date although it does not appear to have been built by the time of Faden’s map of 1797 (S3). It is depicted on the 2nd edition map (25in, 1902-7) (S4).
S. Massey (NMP), 20 March 2003.

May-November 2004. Norfolk Rapid Coastal Zone Archaeological Survey.
Inter-tidal survey (Environmental Zone 12), Context 59:
A sea defence bank was seen to the south of the shingle bank between TG 05915 44909 to TG 06339 44804. It had a steep sloping sides, was aligned east to west and measured 10m to 15m wide by 5m high. Before the shingle beach was built it would have been located to the south of Cley beach. It would have been constructed to reclaim saltmarshes to the south (now Cley fresh marshes).
See assessment report (S5) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.421).
J. Allen (NLA), 20 April 2005. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 21 July 2019.