NHER 5616 (Cropmark and Earthwork record) - Pepper Hill Bronze Age Bowl Barrow

Round bowl barrow - 'Pepper Hill'.
North side Drove Road. Probably excavated by Lord Rosehill around 1870, 90ft (27.5m) diameter 7ft (2.1m) high (measured by Grinsell 1935). Flat-topped with cruciform hole - perhaps used as windmill stead (Clarke notes 'for comparison see Mill Farm 1/4 mile (400m) south' but according to owner that was named from a mill in the farmyard) - but hole could result from excavation technique used by Rosehill. Remains of ditch on west side; poplar on top. Name supposed to originate from Legend of Cromwell using it as gun emplacement to pepper Weeting Castle. Marked on 1st edition 1 inch Ordnace Survey map (S1) but not named.
Photographed by H. D. Hewitt 1 May 1907.
1883 Ordnance Survey marks a trig point on it, but not marked on 1953 edition.
Formerly crowned by two aspens, one of which was blown down 1895 (the other presumably being the 'poplar' mentioned).
R. R. Clarke (Copy NCM card (S2)).
(S1), (S2), (S3), See also, (S4) - in 1853 a 'large barrow at Weeting' was opened but there was nothing in it.

5 December 1979.
Visited by E. Rose (NAU). Excellent condition; grassed over, no trees now on top fenced off from field. Name in fact probably is of the same order as the common 'Pepperpot Hill' refering to size and shape.
E. Rose (NAU).

H. Apling confirms no record of a windmill here.
E. Rose (NAU), 24 March 1982.

32m diam, 3m high. Evidence of ditch on east and west though obviously backfilled in places. Large depression in centre. Grass covered. Very large pit on west.
A. J. Lawson (NAU), 5 March 1976.

September 1983.
No change. In good order, fenced and not close to plough.
J. Wymer.

Barrow covered in long unkempt grass and much scrub. Whole field appears uncultivated. Information received from [1] suggests that owner is 'out of the country' and property is in receivership.
Telephone number on English Heritage form is no longer connected.
[1] to advise if he hears of owner's whereabout/return to England.
H. Paterson (NLA), 3 October 1995.


January 1997.
Scrub clearance around the barrow led to reports of damage. Site visit by H. Paterson (NLA) established that no damage had been caused, although removal of scrub and machine tracking had taken place near to the mound. See photographs in file.
D. Gurney (NLA), 10 February 1997.

Field around Pepper Hill now used for pig rearing. Mound fenced off leaving good margin around site. Scrub has been removed by cutting at ground level. Local information that ploughing/dumping had taken place on or around the mound proved to be incorrect.
H. Paterson (NLA), 9 April 1997.

Good thick grass cover. Some regeneration of scrub/bramble - this will be cut under terms of S.17 Agreement, when weather permits. Animal disturbance minimal.
H. Paterson (NLA), 23 March 1999.

Section 17 Management Agreement signed 1 September 1997 (5 years).
H. Paterson (NLA), 14 September 1999.

October 2000.
Grass cover increasing. Barrow has been sprayed killing the hawthorn scrub. Further treatment will be undertaken to remove the nettle cover to South. It is hoped that an arable reversion scheme under ESA may be entered into, with a sheep grazing regime introduced around and onto the barrow.
H. Paterson (NLA), 4 October 2000.

Copy of schedule and photo in file.

2002.
Some regeneration of scrub. This will be cut.
H. Paterson (A&E), 21 June 2002.

September 2004. Visit.
Revealed scrub again increasing on barrow, which is part of an ESA agreement. Owner to cut scrub soon and poison stumps.
H. Paterson (A&E), 29 September 2004.

February 2016. 'Brecks from Above' and Breckland National Mapping Programme.
The earthworks relating to this previously recorded mound, 27m across, are visible on the aerial photographs (S7)-(S8) and the 0.5m DTM lidar data (S9) [1]. This mound is located within a much wider dispersed cemetery landscape group (NHER 61484) in this area.
The outer ditch, up to 3m wide, survives well in three sections. Possible traces of an outer bank may be visible on the lidar, but this is not conclusive and has not been mapped. Two pits on the top of the mound are likely to relate to antiquarian excavation.
S. Horlock (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 10 February 2016.