NHER 8688 (Monument record) - Medieval to post medieval brickworks, Caister Brick Pits

1949. Field observation.
This site was still known locally as 'brick pits' in the early 20th century and was examined as a possible source of the bricks used to construct Caister Castle (NHER 8671). Caister Castle is located approximately 2200m (1.5 miles) to the north of this site and would have been accessible by water via Pickerell Fleet. Historic documents indicate that the bricks for Caister Castle were made on the estate, and it is believed that the brick kilns were located close to the castle or close to the water to aid transport. Examination of the bricks from the castle indicates that they were made of estuarine clay, supporting a riverine location.
Investigation of this site by Lt. Col. S. E. Glendenning in 1949 revealed shallow workings within a layer of estuarine clay. The entire site was said to occupy approximately four acres and a high quantity of brickyard debris was present along the southern edge of the area, next to the river. The debris included half-burnt bricks and over-fired fragments. The bricks were identified as 14th or 15th century and had a closer resemblance to the bricks from the east wall of the base-court of the castle than to bricks from the castle itself.
Information from (S1).
H. Hamilton (HES), 11 July 2013.

1979. Casual find.
Two bricks found on this site.
One long and thin, very friable, pinkish red similar to those used in Caister Castle (NHER 8671).
The other a fragment, black and hard, possibly overfired.
E. Rose (NAU) 2 February 1980.

November 2005. Norfolk NMP.
Earthworks of large extractive pits, platforms and banks, possibly associated with a medieval to early post medieval brick works, are visible on aerial photographs (S2) and (S3). These earthworks are located at TG 5101 1017, immediately north of the River Bure. This site has previously been identified as a possible brick works and is believed to be the source of the bricks used in the construction of Caister Castle. It was known locally as ‘Brick Pits’ in 1952 (S1).

Reference is made in (S1) to ‘shallow workings in a stratum a few feet thick, of estuarine clay’. This description corresponds with the earthworks visible on 1955 and 1963 aerial photographs (S2) and (S3). A large and irregular area has been excavated to a shallow and relatively uniform depth. The main area, which is centred on TG 5102 1020, contains drainage ditches leading to the field boundary and drainage ditch to the north. Apparently surrounding the area of clay extraction are low earthwork platforms. As the field is surrounded by drainage ditches it is very difficult to accurately compare the ground level with that of surrounding fields. Consequently it is not possible to determine whether these platforms actually represent raised areas, or simply areas that had not been excavated. However it is possible that they are partly made up of overburden material for the clay workings. Several possible channels have been cut through the platforms and these presumably relate to the drainage of the site.

Two parallel earthwork banks are present in the southeast of the group of cropmarks. They extend on a roughly southwest to northeast alignment between TG 5104 1011 and TG 5118 1024. These banks appear to join and be interrupted by the earthworks of the raised areas. A narrow channel measuring from 1m and 3m wide is present between the two banks. It is likely that these banks define a drainage ditch of possible medieval to post medieval date. Cut into the platforms in the vicinity of these banks are six sub-circular pits and one rectangular pit. The function of these pits is not clear but it is possible that they were somehow related to the brick making at the site. It seems likely that the earthworks visible at this site relate to clay extraction and brick making during the late medieval to early post medieval period. The field was under arable cultivation by 1988 and the earthworks had presumably been levelled (S4).
J. Albone (NMP), 3 November 2005.

May-June 2007. Trial Trenching. Contexts 1-30.
Excavation of six trial trenches along the edge of the river Bure recorded several features and low levels of brick manufacturing debris. The edge of a clay extraction pit was located in the three westernmost trenches (numbered 1 to 3). No finds were recovered from the fill of the pit, but the fill of a possible cut into the natural clay contained a few fragments of ceramic building material. No archaeological features were identified in trench 4, but trench 5 contained an east-west linear feature at the southern end and the easternmost trench contained two ditches, a feature which may have been either a rectangular pit or the western edge of a ditch, and a small pit. A single sherd of 11th to 14th century pottery was recovered from the lower fill of the rectangular pit and 34 brick fragments were recovered from its upper fill, while a single sheep bone was recovered from the small pit.
A total of 78 brick fragments were recovered from the features at the eastern end of the site and as unstratified finds. All were of the same fabric and many were under-fired or too heavily fired, indicating that they were wasters from manufacturing. The quantity of brick debris is lower than might ordinarily be expected from the site of a brickworks, but it has been suggested that this is likely due to past disturbance in the investigated area.
See report (S5) for further information.
J. Allen (NLA), 31 July 2007.
Updated H. Hamilton (HES), 26 June 2013.