Record Details
| NHER Number: | 30716 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Medieval boundary banks, drove road and stock enclosure |
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Summary
A set of four to five parallel earthwork banks visible on aerial photographs form county and parish boundaries, and a droveway. These banks were defined as rabbit warren boundaries in the 16th-century and probably pre-date this, with the later enclosures being stock pens for the droveway. In addition, pieces of post-medieval or modern flint knapper's waste were recovered from here.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TL 8436 8619 |
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| Map Sheet: | TL88NW |
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| Parish: | THETFORD, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK |
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Full description
Earthwork banks.
Forms one side of a set of two and three parallel banks. Those to the north-west are in Suffolk and form county and parish boundaries and also a droveway. Partly parallel on the south-east is a similar bank defining a long enclosure. (There is an adjoining rectangular enclosure in Suffolk to northwest). These earthworks have been partly removed by forestry practices but most are present to height of 40-50cm. At the north-eastern end is the site of Reedfen Lodge marked on the 1929 six inch map.
These earthworks are probably warren boundaries, with enclosures being later stock pens for the droveway. The warrens were defined at these boundaries by the mid 16th century, and probably long before, thus the banks probably predate this.
A 'New Bank' was made in Elveden in 1701.
At location [1], junction of bank and enclosure, a small scatter large flints was found, some quartered. Probably 18th-20th century flint knappers' surface collection which had been discarded because they were of inferior quality.
Information from Colin Pendleton (SAU).
Sketch map in file showing location of earthworks.
E. Rose (NLA) 25 July 1994.
October 2010. Norfolk NMP.
The earthworks described above are visible on aerial photographs (S1-S2) to a greater extent than they were visible on the ground. They run from TL 8462 8641 to TL 8380 8565. At the southern end, the central of the five ditches is likely to represent the western boundary of Thetford rabbit warren (NHER 54069). It is visible for approximately 1100m. It is also likely that the parish/county boundary is represented by the westernmost of the banks.
E. Bales (NMP), 18 October 2010.
January 2019. 'Brecks from Above' and Breckland National Mapping Programme.
The boundary banks described above, which are probably of medieval to post-medieval date (but feasibly could date to any period from the post-Roman to the modern) are visible as earthworks on imagery from a lidar survey flown in 2015 (S3-S4). They have been re-mapped from the lidar, and recorded as part of NHER 61559.
S. Tremlett (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 23 January 2019.
Monument Types
- BOUNDARY BANK (Early Saxon to 21st Century - 410 AD? to 2100 AD?)
- BANK (EARTHWORK) (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- BOUNDARY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- BOUNDARY BANK (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
- DROVE ROAD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- RABBIT WARREN (Medieval to 21st Century - 1066 AD to 2100 AD)
- STOCK ENCLOSURE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
Associated Finds
- LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| <S1> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1947. RAF CPE/UK/2021 4068-9 21-APR-1947 (NMR). |
| <S2> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1989. OS/89406 032-3 05-SEPT-1989 (NMR). |
| <S3> | LIDAR Airborne Survey: Various. LIDAR Airborne Survey. LIDAR Santon Forest Research 0.5m DTM 15-JUL-2015 (BNG Project, FC England, Fugro Geospatial). |
| <S4> | LIDAR Airborne Survey: Various. LIDAR Airborne Survey. LIDAR Thetford Forest Research 0.5m DTM 17-JUL-2015 (BNG Project, FC England, Fugro Geospatial). |
Related records
| 61559 | Part of: Boundary banks defining Thetford Warren, and marking (in part) the parish and county boundaries (Monument) |
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