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Record Details

NHER Number:1078
Type of record:Monument
Name:Cropmarks and finds relating to the settlement of Fring

Summary

Cropmarks of enclosures, a possible rectangular structure or building and a road are visible on aerial photographs. It is likely that these relate to part of the settlement of Fring and probably date from the Late Saxon to post medieval periods. Late Saxon, medieval and post medieval fragments of pottery have been found. Metal detecting here has recovered a wide range of metal finds including Roman coins, a Roman brooch, a Roman stud, two Late Saxon hooked tags, a 14th century seal matrix, a post medieval coin and a post medieval token. One of the Roman coins had a hole in it and may have been used as a pendant in the Early Saxon period.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TF 73 34
Map Sheet:TF73SW
Parish:FRING, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Slight scatter of sherds, Thetford ware, medieval, and post medieval, to south and west of church in arable fields.
A. Rogerson (NLA).

1976, 1989. NAU air photography.
Cropmark of enclosure and ?track here.
See (S1) and (S2).

1990/1991. Metal detected finds.
Three 3rd/4th century coins.
See list in file.
Identified by D. Gurney (NLA), 30 May 1991.
Roman brooch, stud and illegible coin (hole for suspension), Early Saxon use?
Two Late Saxon hooked tags.
Medieval 14th century seal matrix.
Elizabeth I penny and Charles I farthing token.
Post medieval repousse plate and buckle.
Full details and (S3) in file.
W. Milligan (NCM), 24 October 1997.

Treasure report amended by F. Hitchcock and J. Robinson (British Museum), 30 August 2006.
See (S4).
E. Darch (NLA), 30 August 2006.

September 2006. Norfolk NMP.
Cropmarks of enclosures and a road of probable late Saxon to post medieval date are visible on aerial photographs (S5-S9). Three enclosures are present in the northern part of this group of cropmarks. The westernmost of these has an incomplete sub-trapezoidal curvilinear plan with external dimensions of 28m by 28m. Located 30m to its east is a pentagonal rectilinear enclosure cropmark. It has external dimensions of 40m by 33m and has a single entrance on its south side. Linear ditch cropmarks on a similar alignment to this enclosure are present to its north and south suggesting that it formed part of a larger complex which is only partly visible as cropmarks. To the east of the rectilinear enclosure is another larger rectilinear enclosure. It is cut on its northeast side by a post medieval road and measures at least 62m by 41m externally. This enclosure is subdivided into three separate sections by linear ditches. The southern part is the most complete and has a hexagonal plan with internal measurements of 40m by 28m.

To the southeast of the large enclosure cropmark are parallel ditch cropmarks defining a former road. They extend for 136m on a roughly southeast to northwest alignment before making a right-angled turn to the northeast and continuing for a further 26m. Between the cropmarks of the road and the large enclosure is a rectangular positive cropmark measuring nearly 6m by 3m in plan. It is likely that these cropmarks relate to the foundation trenches of a small structure or building. They could represent either the foundation trenches of a timber structure or the robbed-out wall trenches of a masonry building. The simple rectangular plan of this structure or building makes it impossible to date. Isolated sections of linear and curvilinear ditch cropmark are present in the southern part of the group.

It is likely that all of these cropmarks relate to the settlement of Fring. Artefacts of Saxon to post medieval date have been found in the vicinity and it is probable that the enclosures and road also date to this broad period. The modern road that cuts the northeast side of the enclosures and runs past the church is not marked on Faden’s 1797 Map of Norfolk (S10). It is likely that this road was laid out in about 1807 when the park around Fring Hall established and the village was replanned as a consequence. The road visible as cropmarks does not appear to be marked on this map and it is likely that it went out of use at an earlier date. A document in the NRO dated 1782 relates to the stoppage of highways at Fring and could relate to this road (S11).
J. Albone (NMP), 20 September 2006

Monument Types

  • BUILDING (Unknown date)
  • CURVILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
  • DITCH (Unknown date)
  • RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Unknown date)
  • ROAD (Unknown date)
  • STRUCTURE (Unknown date)
  • CURVILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Late Saxon to Medieval - 851 AD to 1539 AD)
  • RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Late Saxon to Medieval - 851 AD to 1539 AD)
  • ROAD (Late Saxon to Medieval - 851 AD to 1539 AD)
  • SETTLEMENT (Late Saxon to 19th Century - 851 AD to 1900 AD)
  • CURVILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
  • ROAD (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

  • BROOCH (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • STUD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • PENDANT (Early Saxon - 411 AD to 650 AD)
  • DRESS COMPONENT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
  • POT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • SEAL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • BUCKLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • COIN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • TOKEN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status

  • SHINE

Sources and further reading

---Serial: 1974. Council for British Archaeology Group 7 Bulletin of Archaeological Discoveries for 1974. No 21. p 4.
---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TF 73 SW 22 [2].
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Monograph: Edwards, D.A.. 1977. The AP Collection of the NAU: Second Report.. East Anglian Archaeology. Vol 5, p 234. p 234.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Late Saxon. Fring.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Medieval. Fring.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Post-Medieval. Fring.
<S1>Map: Ordnance Survey, First Edition, 6 Inch. 1879-1886. Ordnance Survey 1st Edition 6 inch map..
<S2>Unpublished Document: 1976. Cropmarks - Area TF. Fring.. 3 September.
<S3>Photograph: NCC Find Identification and Recording Service. c. 1975-2000. HES Find Polaroid Collection. HES Find Polaroid Collection. polaroid. black and white.
<S4>Unpublished Document: Hitchcock, F. and Robinson, J.. 2006. Treasure Report.
<S5>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1974. NHER TF 7334V (NLA 26/AEQ12) 24-JUN-1974.
<S6>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1976. NHER TF 7334AA-AB (NLA 26/AEQ3-4) 24-JUN-1976.
<S7>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1976. NHER TF 7334AE-AF (NLA 26/AEQ8, 13) 24-JUN-1976.
<S8>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1976. NHER TF 7334AG (NLA 35/AGP8) 27-JUL-1976.
<S9>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1989. NHER TF 7334ACA-ACB (NLA 227/DKH2) 26-JUN-1989.
<S10>Publication: Faden, W. and Barringer, J. C. 1989. Faden's Map of Norfolk in 1797.
<S11>Documentary Source: 1782. Road Order for Stoppage of Highways, Fring..

Related records - none

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