NHER 1037 (Monument record) - Earthworks of a medieval moat and post medieval causeway

May 1973.
Surveyed during MPBW funded rapid moat survey.
See (S1).
J. Allen (NLA), 15 August 2001.

Moat, cited as castle site by Ordnance Survey. Probably not a castle. Flat bottomed ditch (part wet) surrounds slightly raised platform in shape an irregular rounded square, planted with conifers.
1 ?Medieval sherd found in molehill in interior.
Post medieval brick causeway.
Surrounded by arable.
A. Rogerson (NAU), 1975.

April 1976.
Roman sherd of greyware jar with sharply everted rim found here. 2nd century?
Ex [1]. Finder [2].
Reported in (S3) and noted on (S4).

October 2002.
Moat scheduled.
See (S2).
M. Horlock (NLA), 27 January 2002.

This site was that granted a licence to crenellate to Robert Drury (Speaker of the House of Commons) in 1510.
The licence, recorded in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII Vol1 page 143 Number 947 reads;
Licence to impark 2,000 acres of land, and 50 acres of wood, in the parishes of Hansted, Whepsted, Hornengserth, Great Nowton, Onhows, Buxhale, Harleston, Shelond, Rede, Chedbergh, Chevington, Hartest, Somerton, and Brokeley, Suff., with free warren and fishery there, and in Norf., Suff., and Bucks; also licence to enclose with walls and towers his manors of Hansted Hall, Buknahams, and Onhowshalle, Suff.
Dated 8 March 1510, granted, by privy seal, at Greenwich.

This wording has lead some to identify or search for a Hanstead Hall in Buckingham but Campling, Arthur, 1937, The History of the Family of Drury (London) Chapter 5 (online at http://www.genealogysource.com/druryhistpt5.htm and http://www.genealogysource.com/druryhistpt5b.htm) shows this to by a Drury property.

As with all late licences to crenellate (as well as most early ones) it is extremely unlikely that any seriously fortified house was built, but were the Ordnance Survey were aware of this licence when they called this the site of a castle?
Information from [3].

September 2023. Wendling Beck and Fransham Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AIM) Project.
The earthworks of a medieval moat (see above) are seen on aerial photographs and on recent (2017) visualised lidar data (S5-S12). The interior of the moat (mapped by extent) appears to be slightly raised with two mounds visible in the northeast of the area (centred at approximately TF 9171 0974). The function of the mounds is uncertain. Although, it is possible that the larger mound (centred at approximately TF 9171 0975) may have related to a building platform. Two pits can also be seen within the interior of the site on S11. One of the pits in the east area of the area (centred at approximately TF 9172 0973) appears to be embanked on the visualised lidar data (S11). It is possible that the pit features may have related to former ponds. Two breaks can be seen in the northern ditch (centred at approximately TF 9169 0975 and TF 9171 0976) on S11. These breaks most likely relate to causeways for access to the interior of the moat. One of the causeways most likely relates to the post medieval brick causeway discussed above. To the southwest moat a section of earthwork ditch (centred at approximately TF 9167 09711) and a pit (centred at approximately TF 9168 0969) can be seen on S5-S6. It is possible that these features may have related to the moated site and may related to drainage. The ditch and pit are not visible on later aerial photographs (including S7, S8 and S12) or on the visualised lidar (S11). It is therefore presumed that these features have been levelled. The site is under tree cover on the majority of the consulted sources including on recent (2022) aerial photographs (S12). The interior of the moat can be seen well on S7 and the ditch of the moat can be seen clearly on S8. As the features can be seen clearly on recent visualised lidar data, it is likely that the moat and the internal features still survive as earthworks. The site is also recorded on the readily available historic maps such as S13-S15.
J. Powell (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 01 September 2023.