NHER 45155 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Cropmarks of post medieval field boundaries

October 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a large area of post medieval field boundaries are visible to the south of Hobland Road (S1- S8). The site is centred on TG 5083 0111. These are part of a much wider spread of post medieval field boundaries within this area; NHER 45158 to the east, separated by Sidegate Road, and NHER 45154 to the north, separated by Hobland Road.

The majority of the field boundaries are rectilinear and arranged either parallel or perpendicular to those existing in the modern landscape. Many of the ditches terminate at boundaries and field intersections still remaining in use. The boundaries visible on the aerial photographs reveal a more complex system of fields and enclosures, in particular at TG 5092 0085 and TG 5114 0110, some of which are linked by trackways and multiple ditched boundaries. To the immediate south of Hobland Manor is an area of highly enclosed land, with four small enclosures or paddocks being defined at TG 5142 0125, TG 5122 0126, TG 5123 0139 and TG 5137 0138 (S5). In the general proximity of these enclosures a number of Roman finds have been found, see NHER 11551 for details. It is therefore possible that some of these seemingly post medieval enclosures are actually Roman in date. The only part of the site that could potentially be of this date is the enclosure, possibly cut by the Hobland Road, at TG 5137 0137, although this is not certain and it may just be a small enclosure or animal pound alongside the roadside. There are other enclosures and field systems of possible Iron Age to Roman date in the area and the finds may be associated with these sites to the west (NHER 45174) and to the east (NHER 45164). This area of enclosures alongside the road is defined to the west by a trackway that runs alongside the parish boundary. This is likely to have been an earlier route of the Sidegate Road, which formerly ran along the edge of the Gorleston Common and up to the Hobland Manor and the Hobland Plantation, as depicted on the 1783 Hodskinson map (S9). These cropmarks showing a more complicated and highly enclosed field system is likely to represent the pre-parliamentary enclosure landscape.
S. Massey (NMP), 16 October 2006.

May 2018. Watching Brief.
Evaluation of proposed route of Lound to Gorleston Water Pipeline.
A trench excavated at TG 5031 0118 coincided with three of the cropmarks in this group, all of which were found to be associated with surviving ditches. No finds were recovered.
A trench excavated across another east-to-west aligned cropmark at TG 5030 0127 revealed no evidence for a corresponding feature.
See NHER 63599 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 2 October 2019.

March 2023. Assessment of the Character and Significance of East Anglian Field Systems project.
The site described above was included in the dataset analysed for the Historic England-funded Assessment of East Anglian Field Systems project. See the project report (S10) for further details.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk County Council Environment Team), 22 March 2023.