NHER 50576 (Designed Landscape record) - Medieval or early post medieval park or deer park

November 2007. Norfolk NMP.
A medieval to post medieval park or deer park at Gressenhall is shown on a map of 1624 (S1), see copy in file. This park was previously recorded as part of NHER 2823. The 1624 map shows the park with an irregular S-shaped plan divided into separate named areas including, The Lawne, Mannor Yards, Stack Close and Denford Hyll. Comparison with a modern map shows that the park covered an area of approximately 1.2 square kilometres. Some sections of the park boundary survive in the modern landscape as field and woodland boundaries. Some of the removed sections of the boundary on the northwest and east sides of the park are visible as ditch cropmarks on aerial photographs (S2-S3). In addition, a section of the park boundary, which also formed the western boundary of the churchyard, is present as a low earthwork bank within the now extended churchyard (S4). This park was replaced by a smaller park which was located further to the south (NHER 51031). The areas where the later park overlapped the earlier one were labelled as 'The Lawne' and 'The 30 A[cre] Close' on the 1624 map. The area called 'The Lawne' lay closest to the site of the houses associated with both phases of the park (NHER 2823). The later park only is shown on Faden's 1797 county map (S5) and it is possible that the replanning of the park occurred during the 18th century when a new house appears to have been constructed on the site of the earlier hall (NHER 2823).
J. Albone (NMP), 9 November 2007.

February 2024. Wendling Beck and Fransham Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AIM) Project (volunteer strand).
A broad, curvilinear bank, visible as an earthwork on visualised lidar data approximately 200m to the southeast of the current recorded extent of the park, may be part of the park boundary. It does, however, lie to the east of St Mary's Church, Gressenhall, which is contrary to the map evidence described above. The bank is recorded separately from the park as NHER 68046.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 21 February 2024.

April 2024. Wendling Beck and Fransham Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AIM) Project.
Fragments of boundary banks and ditches, visible as earthworks and cropmarks on aerial photographs and visualised lidar data and thought to potentially relate to the boundary of this park, have been recorded separately as NHER 68222, 68223, 68224, 68221, 68235, 68236 and 68237.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 22 April 2024.