NHER 50836 (Monument record) - Cropmarks of medieval to post-medieval enclosures, field boundaries and a former road

January 2008. Norfolk NMP
Cropmarks of enclosures, a former road and field boundaries of medieval to post-medieval and unknown date are visible on aerial photographs (S1). A group of cropmarks relating to the medieval to post-medieval settlement of East Winch are visible to the west and northwest of the present village. These comprise several phases of incomplete rectilinear enclosures that are aligned parallel to the line of Lynn Road (the modern A47) through the village. The main area of these enclosures, in the south-eastern part of the group of cropmarks, appears to be contained within a large rectilinear double-ditched enclosure. This large enclosure lies parallel to, and to the north, of Lynn Road and has internal measurements of 212m by at least 335m. Overlain by the smaller enclosures, adjacent to Lynn Road, are two curvilinear ditches that appear to define an earlier phase of enclosures, although they are too incomplete to be certain. To the north and west of the large rectilinear enclosure are cropmarks of linear ditches, at least some of which appear to be field boundaries. It is likely that the majority of the cropmarks in this group are of late Saxon to post-medieval date and that they relate to the settlement of East Winch. Cutting across both the enclosures and field boundaries are cropmarks of a former road. A negative linear cropmark, representing the compacted or metalled surface of the road, is present on a northwest to southeast alignment flanked by parallel ditch cropmarks. This road is shown on both Faden’s 1797 county map (S2) and Bryant’s 1826 county map (S3) extending from East Winch to Middleton Towers. It is not marked on the first edition 6 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of the 1880s (S4) and appears to have gone out of use by that time. Some of the field boundary cropmarks appear to be contemporary with the road.
J. Albone (NMP), 28 January 2008.

April-June 2010. Trial Trenching and Excavation.
Archaeological work prior to installation of new pipeline running along eastern and southern margins of eastern field.
This work identified numerous ditches, several of which corresponded with the mapped cropmarks. These included the north-to-south aligned cropmark at TF 6924 1657 which was associated with a ditch that produced several fragments of Roman pottery and a Roman tile fragment. Other dated remains associated with these cropmarks included an east-to-west aligned ditch at TF 6913 1637 that contained a number of post-medieval objects. Ditches of uncertain date were associated with the north-north-east to south-south-west aligned cropmark at TF 6918 1653, a north-to-south aligned cropmark at TF 6915 1642, parallel west-north-west to east-south-east aligned cropmarks at TF 6909 1635 (one of which contained a single sherd of early medieval pottery) and adjacent north-to-south aligned cropmarks at TF 6907 1631.
There was no clear evidence for surviving remains associated with the former road represented by the north-west to south-east aligned cropmarks running between TF 6893 1658 and TF 6921 1647.
See reports (S5) and (S6) and NHER 65428 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 8 April 2024.

November-December 2011 and May 2012. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed mineral extraction area. The majority of the cropmarks in this group fell within the area examined and most were associated with corresponding anomalies – suggesting these remains are relatively well preserved. In a number of cases the geophysical anomalies demonstrated the continuation of particular features beyond the limits of the cropmark evidence. A notable example of this was two adjacent, parallel anomalies that significantly extended the lines of a pair of parallel cropmarks at TF 6870 1664. These features are likely to represent a double-ditched trackway, the line of which appears to merges with that of the cropmarks thought to present the line of the former road. A north-north-east to south-south-west aligned cropmark at TF 6878 1655 was also shown to be the eastern side of a sub-square, rhomboidal enclosure that is not necessarily associated with the surrounding field boundaries of probable medieval to post-medieval date.
See NHER 65428 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 8 April 2024.

February-March 2012. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed mineral extraction area.
This evaluation of the southern half of the western field revealed numerous ditches, a number of which corresponded with cropmarks in this group. These included a ditch associated with the north-north-east to south-south-west aligned cropmark at TF68781655 that geophysical survey had shown to be the eastern side of a sub-square enclosure. This was found to contain later Iron Age pottery. Elsewhere, the substantial north-to-south aligned cropmark running between TF 6888 1651 and TF68911629 was found to correspond with several parallel ditches, two of which contained Middle Saxon and Late Saxon finds and a third a small assemblage of medieval pottery.
A single medieval pottery sherd was recovered from a ditch associated with an east-north-east to west-south-west aligned cropmark at TF 6868 1656 and an undated ditch was associated with a north-east to south-west aligned cropmark at TF 6865 1650.
See report (S7) and NHER 65428 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 9 April 2024.

November 2018. Trial Trenching.
Further evaluation of proposed mineral extraction area, with a number of additional trenches excavated to the north and east of those opened in 2012. This phase of work uncovered a number of ditches likely to be associated with cropmarks in this group, although dating evidence was limited. These including ditches that corresponded with the curvilinear cropmarks in the vicinity of TF 6898 1635 that potentially represent elements of an earlier enclosure. A Late Saxon coin was recovered from one of these features and it is notable that samples taken from this ditch and a nearby feature associated with another cropmark (a short east-to-west aligned feature at TF 6897 1637) both contained rye grains – a cereal which was not extensively cultivated until the Saxon period.
A number of the ditches uncovered to the north were likely to be associated with the possible doubled-ditched trackway represented by the parallel north-west to south-east aligned linear cropmarks at TF 6870 1663. Finds from these features were though limited to an iron shoeing nail of medieval or later date.
See report (S8) and NHER 65428 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 8 April 2024.