NHER 26865 (Cropmark and Earthwork) - Medieval ridge and furrow and possible medieval to post medieval ditches

January 2001. NMP.
Four linear features are visible on the 1944 aerial photographs (S1) at TF 689 423. They all appear to be running into the water course, which was deepened to form a World War Two tank trap (NHER 26707). The proximity of the ditches to the possible moated site (NHER 1277), Hunstanton Hall Park (NHER 30464) and an area of ridge and furrow (NHER 28502), suggests that they may have been connected with the draining of the land for one of these sites. The more easterly ditch (TF 6896 4235 to TF 6902 4235) appears to have been somewhat truncated by the soil heaps from the deepening of the water course in World War Two.
A. Hunt (NMP), 17 January 2001.

September 2002. Norfolk NMP.
Site extended considerably in all directions, now being 415m east to west and stretching for 515m north to south.
The features are visible on Meridian aerial photographs from 1967 (S2) and Hunting Survey photographs from 1969 (S3) and CUCAP oblique aerial photographs from 1978 (S4).
The site mainly consists of earthwork ditches to the east of the water channel, almost perpendicular to it. A broad bank runs down the eastern edge of the site from TF 6913 4259 to TF 6910 4245. It is up to 10m wide in places and 140m long. Centred on TF 6906 4252, is a group of narrower banked features which flank the ditches. One of these banks has a cojoined section which almost form a small embanked enclosure. Running from TF 6905 4254 to TF 6905 4257 is a row of five small, roughly circular mounds on the CUCAP 1978 image (S3), although it they cannot be made out clearly on earlier photography, so have been omitted. An area of ridge and furrow, centred on TF 6907 4262, it is approximately 140m long and 60m wide. It has been suggested that the linears across this site are post medieval drainage features, which is possible. Although they do seem to relate to areas of ridge and furrow (NHER 28502) and are located next to a large, possibly moated enclosure (NHER 1277). It is therefore possible that these earthworks are partly medieval in origin and may have related to field systems, rather than merely draining the land.
S. Massey (NMP), 18 September 2002.