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Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Record Details

NHER Number:	6714
Type of record:	Monument
Name:	Site of Bishop's Manor

Summary

This is the site of a medieval manor, known as Bishop's Manor. The outlines of buildings are visible as cropmarks in aerial photographs, and community excavations in 2000 and 2001 revealed the foundations of a building, and fragment of medieval building materials. The earthworks of undated boundaries and medieval fishponds are also visible on the site.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:	TG 1701 3029
Map Sheet:	TG13SE
Parish:	BLICKLING, BROADLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Evidence of building ?Bishop's Palace pre Blickling Hall. See [1].
(S1) says documentary evidence suggests it was not demolished until 18th century.
Site shown as 'the old mannor' on (S2).

NAU aerial photography shows portion of cruciform cropmark of building on this exact site.
E. Rose (NAU)

1985.
Scatter of medieval sherds over site.
Earthworks in river meadows and fine bank running north to south to river are probably medieval and associated with palace site.
Identified P. Wade-Martins (NAU)
E. Rose (NAU) 26 June 1985. NCM 250.985.

August-September 2000. Community Excavation. Contexts 1 to 65.
Trenching by NAU and Broadland District Council summer holiday programme revealed building foundations, surfaces, ditches and a pit/hearth. The lack of any domestic evidence suggests that this building may have been a chapel or agricultural building associated with the manorial site.
See report (S3). The results of this work are also summarised in (S6). See also newspaper article (S7).
D. Gurney (NLA), 3 January 2001.

19 July 1994. NLA air photography
Photographs taken show cropmark enclosure and several building ranges, one of which appears to be cruciform.
S. Massey (NLA), 19 April 2001.

February 2001. Earthwork Survey.
Irregular L-shaped platform with sunken outlines of two possible buildings. Indicates a possible range of buildings and earthwork boundary features.
See report (S4) for further details.
D. Gurney (NLA), 8 March 2001.

August 2001. Community Excavation. From context 100.
Medieval fish ponds and boundary ditches.
See report (S5) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S8).
J. Allen (NLA), 4 September 2001.

Monument Types

BANK (EARTHWORK) (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
BARN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
BISHOPS PALACE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
BOUNDARY DITCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
BUILDING (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
CHAPEL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
DITCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
FISHPOND (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
PIT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

ANIMAL REMAINS (Undated)
MUSKET BALL (Undated)
NAIL (Undated)
OYSTER SHELL (Undated)
SLAG (Undated)
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Undated)
FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
POT (Late Prehistoric - 4000 BC to 42 AD)
POT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
BRICK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
FLOOR TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
KNIFE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
ROOF TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
ROOF TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
TOBACCO PIPE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status

SHINE

Sources and further reading

---	Aerial Photograph: TG1730/A-C.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1994. TG1730/AD; TG1630/R - X.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1994. TG 1730D - AC; TG 1630H - Q.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1994. TG 1730AF, A, B, AG.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1996. TG 1630Y - AD.
---	Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---	Photograph: JVB.
---	Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Medieval. Blickling.
---	Secondary File: Secondary File.
---	Slide: Various. Slide. 1-15.
---	Fiche: Exists.
<S1>	Unpublished Document: Maddison, Dr.. 1989. Guide to Blickling Estate.
<S2>	Map: Corbridge, J.. 1729. [unknown].
<S3>	Unpublished Contractor Report: Meckseper, C. 2000. Report on an Archaeological Excavation at the site of the 'Bishops Manor', Moorgate Farm, Blickling Estate. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 527.
<S4>	Unpublished Report: Cushion, B. 2001. Earthwork Survey. Blickling. Bishop's Manor. Earthwork Survey Report.
<S5>	Unpublished Contractor Report: Penn, K. 2001. Report on an Archaeological Excavation at the site of the 'Bishop's Manor', Moorgate Farm, Blickling Estate and at the Deer Shed and two former RAF sites within the Park. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 656.
<S6>	Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 2001. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 2000. Norfolk Archaeology. XLIII Pt IV pp 707-728. p 709.
<S7>	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2000. Young dig archaeology. 31 August.
<S8>	Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 2002. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk, 2001. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIV Pt I pp 162-177. p 163.

Related records - none

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Parish Summary: Blickling (Parish Summary)