NHER 9204 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Undated mound and ditch

A. Whittingham (church architect) told R.R. Clarke (NCM) in 1960 of a mound in a coppice 300m (1000 feet) north of church, with 3.6m (12 feet) ditch on east and ponds on north and south known locally as 'Ice Hill', but unlikely to be an ice house as no house of suitable date was near (according to Whittingham). In 1935 the owner excavated on top of mound and found beams, one of which he removed.

18 November 1976. Visit.
The mound is now difficult of access as the footpath has been removed and it is sandwiched between a school and a fenced field. It is of 'upturned pudding basin' type with wet ditch on east and south and large waterfilled pit to north. Height around 3.9m (13 feet) from surface of water in ditch: ditch rises 90cm (3 feet) above waterline. Mound could have been formed from upcast from pit, but it is similar to Morden Park (Surrey) which is classified as a Roman burial mound by Frere, but which also had an 18th century summerhouse on top.
E. Rose (NAU), 18 November 1976.

Mound 26m diameter, ditch 2m wide a motte?
A.J. Lawson (NAU), 8 August 1976.

July 1994.
Overgrown with trees and scrub, and ditch filling with rubbish and fallen trees. Crossed by several paths used for school cross country. On top of the mound is a pit, around 3m diameter and 1 to 1.5m deep, with four shallower ditches running north, south, east and west to edge of mound as though for drainage.
See (S1).
I don't think this is Roman.
D. Gurney (NLA), 11 July 1994.

The plan given by D. Gurney (NLA) very closely resembles that of a postmill with its crosstrees. Could this have been a millmound - or at least reused as such - and the excavated beams in 1935 been its supports?
E. Rose (NLA), 26 July 1994.

June 2012. Norfolk NMP.
This area was examined as part of the National Mapping Programme. It was not possible to make out the extent of the earthwork mound described above on aerial photographs as it was obscured by trees on all the available photographs.
E. Bales (NMP), 7th June 2012.

March 2026. HER Enhancement: Forestry Commission Project K.
The earthwork mound and ditch (see above) are visible on visualised lidar data from a survey flown in 2021 (S2).
J. Powell (Norfolk County Council Environment Service), 09 March 2026