NHER 27385 (Monument record) - Post medieval ridge and furrow

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Summary

Earthworks and soilmarks of a post medieval narrow ridge and furrow are visible on aerial photographs. It is possible that they date to the period of the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) when grain prices were high and areas of the marshland were taken into arable cultivation. The earthworks had been levelled by 1963.

Protected Status/Designation

None recorded

Location

Map sheet	TG51SW
Civil Parish	GREAT YARMOUTH, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK

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Full Description

June 2005. Norfolk NMP.
Earthworks and soilmarks of a post medieval narrow ridge and furrow are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S3). These earthworks are centred on TG 5160 1011 and lie at about 1m OD. The earthworks of the ridge and furrow lie within a trapezoidal field, the ditches of which no longer exist. A total of 17 parallel north to south aligned ridges are visible as earthworks. The ridges are 3m wide and up to 55m long at the western end of the field. Information from [1] suggests that these are the remains of narrow ridge and furrow. It is possible that they date to the period of the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) when grain prices were high and areas of the marshland were taken into arable cultivation (S4). The earthworks were extant in 1955 (S2) but had been levelled by 1963 (S3).
J. Albone (NMP), 13 June 2005.

April 2008-June 2010. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of excavation of new soke dyke as part of the Broadland Flood Alleviation Project (Compartment 11).
There was no evidence for surviving remains associated with these earthworks.
See report (S5) and NHER 69639 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 2 December 2025.

Associated Sources (5)

<S1> SNF56288 Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1945. RAF 106G/UK/726 5041 26-AUG-1945 (NMR).
<S2> SNF56283 Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1955. RAF 58/1674 (F22) 0334-5 04-MAR-1955 (NMR).
<S3> SNF56260 Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1963. RAF 543/2531 (F22) 0015-0016 14-NOV-1963 (NMR).
<S4> SNF52439 Monograph: Williamson, T.. 1997. The Norfolk Broads: A Landscape History.. pp 61-62.
<S5> SNF103276 Unpublished Contractor Report: Wallis, H. 2020. Right Bank of the River Bure Acle to Great Yarmouth, Compartment 11, Broadland Flood Alleviation Project. Monitoring of Works under Archaeological Supervision and Control. Heather Wallis. 245.