Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

Earthworks, including moat, and site of church with possible remains.

1977.
Finds of Roman, medieval and post medieval sherds.

1980.
Neolithic arrowhead found.

Pre 1988.
Finds with no information of Roman coin and metalwork, medieval to post medieval metalwork.

1990. Earthwork Survey.
Found during earthwork survey.
11 medieval pottery sherds found on molehills during survey (11 unglazed and 2 green-glazed Grimston).
See details, schedule sheet and documentary evidence in file.
See published article (S10) for details. This site was also included in (S11).
E. Rose (NAU), 2 March 1990.

May 2002. Metal detecting. In area centred [1].
12th century finger ring with glass setting (Treasure report to follow).
Two Roman coins.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 21 July 2002.

May 2002. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of stripping of trackway. The depth of stripping remained largely within the topsoil. From context 100 to 104.
Roman sherd.
Medieval and post medieval pottery.
Post medieval brick and tile.
See report (S12) for further details.
J. Allen (NLA), 30 May 2002.

12th century ring found May 2002 (see above) disclaimed as Treasure 1 April 2003.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 26 April 2003.

April 2005.
Scheduled monument consent granted concerning the digging of a small trench to locate the existing soil pipe and to connect a new waste pipe from the WC.
See (S1)
H. White (NLA), 20 March 2008

May 2005. Watching Brief.
Carried out for English Heritage to monitor digging of new waste pipe from toilet to cess pit close to boundary of scheduled monument. Trench showed disturbance from tree roots and existing electricity cable. No archaeological finds or features were encountered.
See (S2).
H. Paterson (A&E), 10 May 2005.

March 2007.
Scheduled monument consent granted concerning the digging of a trench to bury power cables.
See (S1).
H. White (NLA), 6 April 2009

16 October 2008.
Scheduled Monument consent granted concerning excavation work for underground electricity cabling to supply a new outdoor education centre and for the digging of a trench and bore hole.
See (S1) for further details
H. White (NLA), 20 March 2009.

December 2008. Watching Brief.
A small exploratory hole was dug by hand in the proposed loction of a new electricity pole. The hole was then augured. Secondary holes to locate the existing cabling were dug to the north of the pole, and the spoil from these holes produced a sherd of medieval pottery, an iron nail, a horseshoe fragment, oyster shell and animal bone. No archaeological features were identified.
See report (S6) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2016.34).
H. White (NLA), 9 April 2009. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 17 May 2019.

The central grid reference for this site has been altered from TL 9477 8416 to TL 9465 8435

January 2011. Norfolk NMP.
The earthworks of the medieval settlement of Harling Thorpe are visible on aerial photographs (S7-S9). This site has been subject to an earthwork survey by Brian Cushion in 1990 (S10-S11) and this revealed a detailed plan of the site, which consists of a central hollow way with a street of tofts and platforms backing onto the flood plain of the River Thet. The NMP mapping has largely confirmed what was recorded on the ground, although some significant additions to the site were identified on the aerial photographs.
Within the eastern concentration of platforms backing onto the hollow way are a number of pronounced raised areas, appearing to sit on top of these broader platforms, and some of these are likely to have related to former buildings and/or houses. Although it must be noted that the earthworks in the area of TL 9488 8419 were hard to discern on the aerial photographs and it may be that further platforms were present in this area. Additional platforms in a similar topographic location to those to the east – i.e. backing onto the flood plain – where identified to the north of Thorpe Farm.
To the west of Thorpe Farm an area of ridge and furrow or water meadows were identified (S10-S11). These were clearly visible on the aerial photographs, in particular (S8). Given the position of these earthworks immediate adjacent to the flood plain and linked into a dyke leading off the River Thet, the interpretation of water management, more specifically water meadows, seems the most likely, as suggested in (S10), although given the medieval settlement context then the presence of ridge and furrow must remain a possiblity. To the immediate west of these ridges an irregular chain of drains, with occasional internal platforms, is visible on the aerial photographs (S7-S9). Although not as clearly defined as the water meadows system to the east it seems likely that these served a similar function.
The manorial house associated with the settlement (NHER 6084) is thought to have been located near Thorpe Farm. Blomefield states that remains of this house were lost prior to the early eighteenth century and that the site of the manor was made into a pond or pool (S10). A large depression noted on the ground may correspond with this former site, see NHER 6084 for details. A small depression noted on the aerial photographs (S8) at TL 9428 8400 seems unlikely to correspond to this feature and is more likely to relate to this linear group of water management features.
The above suggested site of a church, marked on Ordnance Survey maps, is generally felt more likely to relate to the site of a watermill (S10-S11) and a millstone has been found on site. There are documentary references to a watermill in Harling Thorpe in the 15th century (S10), and is worth noting that no references to a Church have been recovered as part of the extensive documentary research undertaken by Alan Davison for this site. The NMP mapping revealed an L-shaped revetment or wall projected out over the flood plain at this approximate location. Although it must be noted that the arrangement of channels coming off the River Thet to the north of Thorpe Farm would be more suggestive of the location of a watermill.
The NMP mapping has also greatly extended knowledge of this site through the recording of additional earthwork enclosures and boundaries to the north of the previously surveyed area, located on the opposite side of the Thet on Thorpe Fen. The most significant of these being the large ditched enclosure at TL 9470 8448, which has a number of internal platforms and probable building remnants visible on the aerial photographs. A number of probable trackway and raised routeway sections are visible leading towards the enclosures from the east. Within the main settlement the earthworks of second hollow way leading south can be seen to the east of Thorpe Farm and an extension of this route can be seen as cropmarks up to 130m to the south.
S. Horlock (NMP), 13 January 2011.

March-April 2015. Watching Brief.
Maintained during the installation of a new water pipe between the woodland holiday facility at Thorpe Woodlands and Thorpe Farm Cottages.
An undated area of flint cobbling close to Thorpe Farm Cottages probably represented the remnants of an area of hardstanding.
No other archaeologically-significant features or deposits were observed and no finds were recovered.
See report (S13) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.473).
P. Watkins (HES), 24 September 2024.

September-October 2016. Excavation and Watching Brief.
Archaeological work undertaken prior to and during construction of extensions to Thorpe Farm Cottages (TL 9480 8419), which are centrally located within one of the rectilinear enclosures interpreted as medieval tenements.
The stripping of garden soil from the footprints of the two extensions revealed the top of a buried topsoil, with test pits then determining that only the deeper foundations for the external walls would impact on underlying archaeological deposits. A number of features of probable medieval date were recorded within these foundation trenches and a nearby soakaway trench, including two ditches, a pit and two post-holes. A north-north-west to south-south-east aligned ditch produced the most diverse assemblage of finds, including medieval pottery suggestive of a 12th- to 13th-century date. This feature and an adjacent, north-to-south aligned ditch both produced fragments of smithing slag, including hearth bottoms and vitrified heath lining. Other finds from these features included fragments of lava quern, pieces of fired clay and animal bone. Samples taken from their fills contained charred cereal grains, charcoal, fish bones and scales and flake and spheroidal hammerscale. Much of this material clearly represents domestic waste and it was noted that the upper fill of one of the ditches and that of an adjacent pit appeared to have contained cess.
Overlying the ditches in the southern excavation area was a concentration of flints observed to continue beneath the foundations of the cottages, which potentially represented the plough-disturbed remnants of an earlier yard surface.
Close to Thorpe Farm Cottages patches of green clay were observed, which likely represented overspill of imported material used to form a slab foundation for the buildings.
Finds recovered from the buried soil layer and other unstratified contexts included a prehistoric blade-like flint flake; several crude flint flakes that possibly represented waste from the knapping of building material; medieval, late medieval/early post-medieval, post-medieval and post-medieval/modern pottery sherds; a piece of post-medieval bottle glass; a post-medieval iron nail and a fragment of lead window came.
The excavation of a service trench to the soakaway and the installation of a floor slab for a porch were subject to archaeological monitoring but these works only disturbed modern deposits.
See report (S14) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 September 2024.

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Prehistoric - 1000000 BC to 42 AD)
• BUILDING PLATFORM (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• CHURCH? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• DESERTED SETTLEMENT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• DITCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• ENCLOSURE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• HOLLOW WAY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• HOUSE PLATFORM (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• MOAT? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• PIT (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
• POST HOLE (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
• RIDGE AND FURROW? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• WATERMILL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Post Medieval to Late 20th Century - 1540 AD to 2000 AD)
• WATER MEADOW? (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

• ANIMAL REMAINS (Unknown date)
• FLAKE (Unknown date)
• MILLSTONE (Undated)
• UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Unknown date)
• FLAKE (Prehistoric - 1000000 BC to 42 AD)
• LEAF ARROWHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• KEY (LOCKING) (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• POT (Roman to Late Saxon - 43 AD? to 1065 AD?)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
• BUCKLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• CAME (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FINGER RING (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• KEY (LOCKING) (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• METAL WORKING DEBRIS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• PLANT REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• QUERN (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
• SLAG (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• XFIRED CLAY (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
• POT (Medieval to 16th Century - 1401 AD to 1600 AD)
• BELL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• BOTTLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• BRICK (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• BUCKLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• CLAY PIPE (SMOKING) (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• CLAY PIPE (SMOKING) (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• KEY (LOCKING) (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• NAIL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• ROOF TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• SPOON (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (18th Century to Late 20th Century - 1701 AD to 2000 AD)

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument
• SHINE

Sources and further reading

Related records - none

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Harling (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Harling (Parish Summary)