NHER 50990 (Monument record) - Undated ditches and post medieval earthworks probably related to features associated with Beeston Park.

October 2008. Norfolk NMP.
A series of earthwork banks and ditches is visible on aerial photographs (S1)-(S7), centred at TG 2568 1368. The site lies in the south of Beeston Park (NHER 30495), which has been in existence, in one form or another, since the 17th century (NHER 8174). The earthwork features seem to relate to features within the park, and as such probably date from the post medieval period.

The longest ditch, running for 281m across the centre of the site, is approximately 4m in width, and has an intermittent bank alongside it. It is possible that this may have represented some form of park boundary, although the Tithe map of 1842 does not show this (S8). In fact, a possible continuation of this ditch and bank has been noted to the south west (NHER 50984). A shorter ditch and bank, 53m in length, runs almost parallel to this feature approximately 15m to the north, and appears to be cut by a pond visible on the 1st edition OS map (S9).

The longest east-west ditch, above, appears to be later than two ditches running roughly north-west to south-east, centred at TG 2568 1370, which may also be related to park features, as they appear to be aligned towards the position of the hall. It seems possible that these features relate to the recorded seventeenth century avenue, contemporary with an earlier hall on the site (S10), and it is clear that these “low irregular and amorphous earthworks in the pasture to the south of the house”, still visible as earthworks as recently as 1995, may relate to “enclosed gardens and courts” associated with the seventeenth century house (S10).

An earthwork bank, probably a post medieval boundary defining a plantation or land division, is visible on aerial photographs to the north (NHER 50799), and also may be contemporary with these earthworks.

There are also several possible earlier linear features in the vicinity, which appear to be cut by the ditches mentioned above, but which may also be related to the laying out of the formal park and gardens, or may relate to earlier activity on the site. In particular, five linear ditch features aligned roughly north-south, to the south of the broader east-west ditch, appear to be cut by the possible avenue ditches, and as such have been assigned both a post medieval and unknown date.
E. Bales (NMP), 29 October 2008.