NHER 9741 (Monument record) - Site of part of 18th century Turnpike road

Course of old road. Main Norwich road diverted from Roman course at unknown date, runs from TG 2235 0155 (old road remained as track) to TG 2231 0260, with branch to northeast. In 1840 the road was diverted again (see NHER 9742) but when the railway was built, the northern part of the road was returned to its old course. All marked on 1st edition Ordnance Survey map and later revisions.
R. R. Clarke on NCM map sheet (S1).

There is some confusion in the latter sentence; the railway was built in 1840, so it was then that the northern part was moved back to avoid two rail crossings. The road was moved west from NHER 9741 to NHER 9742 at an earlier date. The southern part of NHER 9741 is visible on NAU aerial photographs.
E. Rose (NAU), 20 July 1982.

The above information is inaccurate. The southern part of road NHER 9741 together with road NHER 9742 were built as a turnpike in 1768. The northern part of road NHER 9741 dates from 1839 when NHER 9742 was abandoned. See report (S2). The road to the northeast marked by Clarke was not found by NAU on any map, indeed the 1839 map shows the present Dunston Common Lane, and this would therefore seem to be a mistake.
E. Rose (NLA), 20 October 1993.

1990. NAU aerial photography clearly shows the south end of the road curving on to the Pye Road course then curving away again and including the square cropmarks NHER 21115. Presumably earlier feature. See the 1838 first edition 1inch Ordnance Survey map (S3) which shows this road in use but the line of the present main road as under construction. This seems to be one of the later, undated revisions of the map around 1860 as it is connected with the marked railway course.
Compiled by E. Rose (NLA), 18 December 1995.

Though as stated above, the northeast branch of the road as plotted by R. R. Clarke could not be found by NAU on any map and was thought to be a mistake, excavations on site NHER 31820 (see report (S4) in that file) found a ditched trackway on the same alignment and near to Clarke's marking - within area of permissible error on old record map. Did Clarke therefore add this branch from some other source not recorded?
Compiled by E. Rose (NLA) and S. Bates (NAU), 30 August 1996.

June-July 1996. Trial Trenching.
Section cut across main turnpike road within site NHER 31821.
Harness fitting and coin found in metalling.
See report (S4) for further details. The results of this work are summarised in (S5).
Compiled by E. Rose (NLA), 30 August 1996. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 8 April 2015.

March 2009. Norfolk NMP.
The cropmarks of a section of this post medieval Turnpike Road have been recorded under NHER 52171.
S. Horlock (NMP), 24 March 2009.