NHER 17347 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Trackway or road and field system of medieval to post medieval date

1 August 1977. NAU air photography.
Cropmarks of linear ditches of field system (S1).
D. Edwards (NAU) 18 March 1981.

The central grid reference for this site has been altered from TG 102 192 to TG 1034 1945.

April 2010. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a trackway and/or road and field system of medieval to post medieval date are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S8). The site is centred on TG 1034 1945. The main component of this site is a road or trackway running diagonally through the centre of the site. This would appear to relate to road or trackway depicted on Faden’s map of 1797 (S9). The former continuation of Heath Lane to the south is visible on aerial photographs and is also depicted on the 1797 map. Another substantial trackway runs broadly perpendicular to this to the east and seemingly continues past Springwell Lane. The field boundaries and more minor trackways that run either parallel or perpendicular to these early roads and/or tracks clearly pre-date the current field and plantation pattern and are likely to represent remnants of a field pattern of medieval date. Finds in the area indicate a level of Roman activity in the general area of the cropmarks, for example NHER 44047, 49087 & 51168, although there is no current evidence for any of these boundaries being significantly pre-medieval in date, although a late Saxon date for some components is feasible given the presence of late Saxon material in the area (NHER 44056, 49087 & 51569). A few fragmentary ditches of unknown date have been included within this site.
Fragmentary cropmarks in the areas of TG 1000 1950, TG 1036 1923 and TG 1070 1955 additional to those mapped are potentially visible on (S7), but were not added to the mapping due to time constraints, see Google Earth website for images. Only the main components of cropmarks visible on (S8) were added to the mapping, again due to time constraints, further assessment of this image on Google Earth may reveal further detail.
S. Horlock (NMP), 26 April 2010.