NHER 42378 (Monument record) - Possible post medieval wildfowl pond

January 2006. Norfolk NMP.
A sub-rectangular pond with a central island is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs (S1), (S2), (S3) and (S4), centred at TG 4529 2204. Its date and function are unknown. A post medieval date seems likely for the site, as the earthwork appears to be relatively well defined. Certainly, it is likely to pre-date World War Two as it is visible on photographs taken in 1943 (S1). It might perhaps have been a wildfowl pond, the central island serving as a refuge from predators for the birds. Similar but larger ponds of post-World War Two date are visible on the edges of Winterton Dunes, several kilometres to the east of the site, such as that at TG 4816 2139. Alternatively, it might simply have been a stock pond, or dug for drainage purposes, or for extraction. Its relationship with the woodland shown as occupying this site on the Ordnance Survey 2nd edition 25 inch map (S5) is not known.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 6 January 2006.