NHER 55750 (Monument record) - Possible late post-medieval/modern brick production site

April-August 2011. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of flood defence works undertaken along the bank of the River Bure as part of the Broadland Flood Alleviation Project (Compartment 9).
Topsoil stripping at this location prior to the excavation of a new drainage dyke exposed an area of brick rubble. As a result the remaining topsoil stripping was undertaken under constant archaeological supervision, revealing several heavily truncated industrial features. These remains were then the subject of an archaeological excavation, the results of which are detailed below.
See report (S1) for further information on the initial watching brief.
P. Watkins (HES), 18 November 2018.

June-July 2011. Excavation.
Excavation of remains identified during initial watching brief (see above).
The carefully stripping of this site revealed several brick-built structures and other remains likely to have been associated with some form of industrial activity, all of which were badly truncated.
A series of eight parallel shallow gullies exposed in the corner of the site are thought to have been the remains of some form of kiln or industrial drier. The bases of the gullies appeared to be scorched and they were filled with gritty black coal dust. It is assumed that upstanding brick supports would have lain between these channels. An adjacent parallel linear feature was probably associated with the use of this structure. Nearby, the remains of three brick-built structures were also exposed, although in all cases only a single course of bricks survived. All three structures were associated with burnt debris and in places the bricks themselves displayed evidence of heat damage. In two cases it was clear that bricks within the structures had been deliberately placed so as to create gaps that were presumably designed to allow air to circulate.
The available evidence suggests that this industrial site was probably in use between the late 19th century and the early 20th-century. Bricks retrieved from the structures themselves probably date to the 19th-century, which is consistent with the small assemblage of 18th/19th-century pottery sherds recovered. However a number of other finds such as clay tobacco pipe fragments and bottle glass suggest that activity on the site probably occurred more recently, during the late 19th century or 20th century. This is supported by the available cartographic evidence, with nothing marked on the site until the 1st Edition O.S. map was revised in 1905, at which time a structure of some kind is depicted. Some form of feature can also be seen at this location of aerial photographs taken in 1946.
On balance it is thought that the remains exposed at this site were probably related to brick making, although the lack of any associated evidence such as extraction pits suggests that this can only have been a fairly small scale activity. It is possible that this site was producing brick for use in the construction of nearby pump houses.
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 18 November 2018.