NHER 4831 (Monument record) - Site of Hovell's Manor

22 June 1975. OS aerial photography.
Parchmark cropmarks.
Moat.
D. Voisey (NLA) 7 March 1995.

Site of (OS). Shown with double moat on old (S1) - E. Rose (NAU/NLA).

Survey in file.
OS Records.
R. J. Rickett (NAU) 10 April 1990.

17 July 1990. NAU aerial photography.
Cropmarks of two moats visible in playing field.
D. Edwards (NAU).

January 2019. Breckland National Mapping Programme.
A probable site of a medieval manor is seen as cropmarks and earthworks on aerial photographs (S2-S4). The site consists of two moats with further ditches and possible ponds to the south. The site was visible as earthworks in the 1940s (S2-S3) until the 1970s (S4) where most of the earthworks are levelled and the site of the manor is now overlain by a cricket pitch. The probable manor has been documented on the First Edition (S1) and Second Edition (S5) Ordnance survey maps as “Site of Hovell’s Manor” and sits within a wider medieval landscape which includes ridge and furrow (NHER 63062) and an enclosure to the south (NHER 35568).
The mapped extent of this site has been significantly expanded [1].
J. Powell (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 11 January 2019.

Before 30 July 2022. Field Observation.
[2] and [3] note in correspondence (S6) and (S7) that the field bordering Little London Road and directly east of the field containing the site of Hovell's Manor is unusual as it remains unploughed in modern times. At Context 1 earthworks were observed, possibly including evidence for ridge and furrow (S6). Aerial photographs (S8) taken c. 2020 show the earthworks running at an angle from the field boundary dividing the fields in an approximately south-west to north-east direction. The 2003 Google Earth image (S9) of the field also shows cropmarks and possible earthworks in this area.
No archaeological features were recorded in this field or within Context 1 by the aerial investigation and mapping survey completed in January 2019 (ENF145328). This included analysis of a full range of aerial photographs and 2m LIDAR data. The LIDAR data was revisited by the Aerial Investigation and Mapping team because of the field observations detailed above. However, it was felt that the original interpretation stands and the earthworks and cropmarks visible in the area are of natural rather than archaeological origin.
As the archaeological nature of the earthworks cannot be ruled out the mapped extent of this site has been extended to include most of the field containing Context 1 [4].
A. Beckham (HES), 9 September 2022.