NHER 27459 (Monument record) - Cropmarks and earthworks of medieval peat cutting

The Norfolk Heritage Explorer is a filtered version of the Norfolk HER intended for casual research. Please to consult the full record.

See also further .

Summary

A probable peat cutting or Broad, possibly of medieval date, is visible as cropmarks and earthworks on aerial photographs. It appears as an area of lower ground, bounded on its west and south sides by 19th-century and modern field boundaries, which seems too large and polygonal to be a natural feature or the product of modern extraction or agriculture. It lies close to the north-west corner of Ormesby Broad (NHER 13509), separated from the Broad by carr and plantation woodland. Given this relationship, it seems most likely that the feature described here is a remnant of the formerly more extensive Broad, and like the Broad itself it is also the product of medieval peat cutting.

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Location

Map sheet TG41NE
Civil Parish MARTHAM, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK

Map

April 2005. Norfolk NMP.
A possible medieval peat cutting or Broad is visible as cropmarks and earthworks on aerial photographs (S1-2), centred at TG 4577 1713. It lies on the north-west edge of a drainage system, depicted on modern Ordnance Survey maps, which leads, via an expanse of carr and plantation woodland, into the northern end of Ormesby Broad (NHER 13509). This proximity and the polygonal shape of the mapped pit or depression suggest that it too was once part of the Broad, and is therefore also a product of medieval peat cutting. Its southern and western limits are followed by 19th-century field boundaries (e.g. see S3), giving the impression of it being an earlier feature.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 27 April 2005.

  • <S1> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1997. OS/97614 313-4 01-JUN-1997.
  • <S2> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1979. OS/79019 001-2 14-APR-1979.
  • <S3> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1884-1891. Ordnance Survey Map. Six inches to the mile. First Edition. 1:10,560.

Object Types (0)

Related NHER Records (0)

Record last edited

Feb 22 2022 8:10AM

Comments and Feedback

Your feedback is welcome; if you can provide any new information about this record, please contact the Norfolk Historic Environment Record.