NHER 54562 (Monument record) - Earthworks relating to Saxon to medieval date settlement and fields at Rushford College

January 2011. Norfolk NMP.
The earthworks of an area of Middle/Late Saxon to medieval settlement and fields are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S7) surrounding the medieval College and church at Rushford (NHER 6092) and on the Suffolk side of the Little Ouse River. The site is centred on TL 9243 8138. The site consists of boundary ditches and banks forming a series of enclosed parcels of land, some of which may have related to settlement, although many of likely to have been stock enclosures and agricultural areas. A broad bank or elongated platform to the north of the Church and evaluation area may indicate the presence of former building, although this is not certain and it may relate to an agricultural feature. Aerial photographs from 1988 (S8) indicate that the main area of earthworks to the east of the College, and north of the river, still survive to some degree, while other areas would appear to have been plough levelled.
The main concentration of the earthworks is located at TL 9252 8139 to the east of the College and an area of two archaeological evaluations (NHER 40919), which produced evidence of Middle and Late Saxon ditches and land boundaries and medieval settlement and rubbish pits pre-dating the founding of the College in 1342 (S8-S9). It must be noted that the earthwork ditches and banks recorded to the west of this evaluation area follow the same alignment as the Late Saxon ditch excavated in 2004 (S8) and this may suggest that some if not all of these boundaries have a Late Saxon origin, continuing in use throughout the medieval period. See NHER 54564 for discussion of possible Roman or Early Saxon pits and/or sunken-floored buildings to the north of the site.
The traces of probable shallow ditches following a similar pattern on the opposite side of the Little Ouse River, Suffolk, have been included within this site. A possible hollow way or sunken route running along the southern extent of these earthworks was omitted from the mapping as it showed definite signs of recent use in the 1940s (S3) and consequently may not be of any great antiquity.
The ditches mapped to the north of the College are of less convincing archaeological origin as they were tentatively identified on a poor quality copy of a 1923 aerial photograph (S1) and consequently could not be discerned with any certainty. Other possible features were omitted from the mapping, but may in fact relate to additional boundaries.
S. Horlock (NMP), 18 January 2011.