Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

1937 or before. Stray Find.
The Norwich Castle Museum holds several prehistoric flint objects that were found by C. D. Borrer in Blakeney and donated to the museum in 1937. One of these is described by both (S1) and the museum's records as a "large flint implement" that had been found on "Harcourt Farm" (NWHCM : 1937.124). Information from (S1). This object is recording in (S2) as a large Neolithic flint axehead roughout. It should be noted that it is clear from correspondence between J. J. Wymer and N. Barton (Donald Baden-Powell Quaternary Research Centre, Oxford) that this obect was (at one time at least) considered a possible large Upper Palaeolithic blade core. See copies of correspondence and catalogue entry (from British Museum Wymer Archive) in file.

The provenance of this object is not immediately clear as none of the farms in this area are known as Harcourt Farm. However, in a letter to the Eastern Daily Press that was published in 1953 (S3) Borrer describes having found a large Neolithic axe that he picked up on "Breck Farm at Blakeney" - which is almost certainly a reference to this object. In the 1970s the land around Brecks Farm (TG 024 414; formerly Brakehouse Barn) formed part of the holdings of Church Farm, Wiveton. At this time the farmer was a Mr Harcourt, and it is therefore likely that the original provenance given by Borrer was a reference to the landholder, rather than the name of the farm. Mr Harcourt is known to have collected a significant number of Neolithic axeheads from the lands of Church Farm. These are catalogued in (S4), which also includes a drawing and a description of the roughout found by Borrer. Mr Harcourt was clearly aware of Borrer's finds as he provided an exact provenance for this object - described in (S4) as being "near the tumulus" (NHER 6153), within this field.

It should be noted that there is a possibility that this axehead roughout is the same object as a "large flint axe from Harcourt's Farm" that is recorded by another NCM record card (S5) as having been found at Barney (Fulmodestone). This object was apparently shown at a Norfolk Research Committee meeting on 9 October 1937 and donated to the Norwich Castle Museum by A. Q. Watson in the same year. No such object is listed in the museum's records - the only objects donated by Watson in that year were actually from the excavation of the barrow near Breck Farm, in Langham parish (NHER 6153).
P. Watkins (HES), 6 July 2014.

Pre 1975. Stray Find.
This field is one of several in Blakeney and its neighbouring parishes that formed the lands of Church Farm in 1977. Prior to this date the farmer - Mr Harcourt - had collected 38 Neolithic flaked and polished flint axeheads from these fields, although unfortunately the exact provenance of these objects was not recorded. See NHER 60094 and (S4) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 July 2014.

1975-1976. Fieldwalking.
Lower Breck (finder's Field 156).
Fieldwalked by [1] as part of a larger survey of the lands of Church Farm, Wiveton:
112 worked flints, including 1 end scraper, 1 scraper on broken flake, 1 side-and-end scraper and 2 blades/bladelets.
The bulk of the material collected was believed to be Neolithic. See (S4) for further details, in which one of the scrapers is illustrated.
P. Watkins (HES), 15 July 2014.

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Prehistoric - 1000000 BC to 42 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Upper Palaeolithic - 40000 BC? to 10001 BC?)
• FINDSPOT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Associated Finds

• LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
• AXEHEAD ROUGHOUT? (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• BLADE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• END SCRAPER (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• SCRAPER (TOOL) (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• SIDE AND END SCRAPER (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

Related records - none

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Blakeney (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Langham (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Wiveton (Parish Summary)