NHER 29496 (Designed Landscape record) - Honing Park

Park of about 1750, altered by Humphrey Repton 1792 (Red Book). Earlier southwest drive abandoned in favour of southeast drive. Belts extended and woodland walks laid out in 19th century.
English Heritage Historic Parkland Grade II (S1).
E. Rose (NLA), 23 February 1993.

Earthworks of track/road leading to Honing Hall seen on vertical air photograph taken in NCC/BKS survey of Norfolk, 1988 (S2). About 520m length visible.
Site located during NLA earthwork survey, 1993.
M. Flitcroft (NLA) 22 February 1993.

Visit during NLA earthwork survey, fieldwork.
Enclosure to south and east of Hall, bounding a level, higher area than the surrounding parkland. The west boundary is a shallow (0.2m) ditch, extending south to an existing drain. The south and east boundaries are terrace slopes, suggesting in part a Ha Ha, mentioned by the owner. Probable garden earthwork, cut in the southeast corner by the drive. Remains of a brick bridge crossing the aforementioned drain may suggest some evidence for the marks noted on air photographs, but no other surface remains.
B. Cushion (NLA) 9 February 1993.

26 August 1997. NLA air photography.
All or most of site/park visible in photographs.
H. Clare (NLA), 29 May 2001.

2002.
Park upgraded to II* status.
E. Rose (NLA), 17 December 2002.

October 2006. Norfolk NMP.
Earthworks and vegetation marks visible on aerial photographs of Honing Park may equate to some of the features described above. The earthworks and vegetation marks of a ‘track/road’ leading to Honing Hall, visible on (S2), almost certainly correspond with what appears to be a modern drain and/or track visible on (S3). This is not visible on earlier consulted aerial photographs. Its northern end, beyond the east-to-west drain depicted on Ordnance Survey maps, may be the shallow ditch forming the west side of the enclosure described above. The enclosure itself is difficult to identify on the consulted aerial photographs.

A linear northeast-to-southwest vegetation mark and/or earthwork is visible to the southwest (at approximately TG 3247 2860) on oblique aerial photographs, e.g. (S4). This could be part of a former trackway, perhaps that depicted on the parish Tithe Map (S5) and the Ordnance Survey 1st edition 6 inch map (S6). At the same time, it could merely represent a modern track, like those visible in this area on (S2).

Either or both of the features described above might equate to the track (or tracks) referred to variously by secondary sources as the southwest approach or the south drive, (S1) and (S7) respectively. No features have been mapped by the NMP as neither their post medieval origin nor their archaeological significance is certain.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 16 October 2006.