NHER 19578 (Monument record) - Site of 19th century sheep wash

29 September 1983. North of the Pingle.
Discovered during construction of amenities park by MSC workers.
Rectangular tank about 0.6m to 0.9m (2 to 3 ft) deep, about 3.6m (12 ft) wide and 7.6 to 9m (25ft to 30ft) long floor paved with bricks on bed. Walls of carstone with two courses of brick (headers and headers on edge) at top. Wide channel off at one end to side pond. Timber uprights at entrance to tank. At opposite end a narrow drain, running through a brick arch to a wood-lined section, before going into brickwork again. Possibly another channel or ramp, wider, going off tank at right angles to this, as timber uprights against bank and remains of wood shuttering in between.
Not on (S1). On (S2) and (S3) 6 inch Ordnance Survey with subsidiary tanks.
Farmer states used as a sheep dip 1937.
Iron tool with two prongs found in roots beside tank by E. M. James (KLM).
Photos KLM. Drawings in file.
E. M. James (KLM), 29 September 1983.

Possibly made as sheepwash in first place (P. Wade-Martins, NAU).
Other possibilities include tanning, retting etc.
E. Rose (NAU), 24 October 1983.

This feature is visible on the Ordnance Survey first edition 25-inch map of 1885 (S4) and on the second edition of 1905 (S5) where it has the same layout and is labelled 'Sheepwash'. It therefore seems most likely that this was designed and built as such.
A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 16 July 2019.