Skip over navigation

View a printer friendly version of this page

Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Record Details

NHER Number:	42420
Type of record:	Monument
Name:	Medieval to post medieval drainage ditches, banks and channels

Summary

Earthworks of curvilinear and linear drainage ditches, banks and channels of medieval to post medieval date are visible on aerial photographs. These follow the curvilinear course of the Northern Rond, a major natural marshland channel. It is of an early, probably medieval, date and formed the boundary of five parishes. The ditches are located in an area of former marshland and are cut by the 1820s Norwich to Great Yarmomuth turnpike road. They represent the medieval and post medieval drainage pattern of this area of the marsh.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:	TG 47346 08720
Map Sheet:	TG40NE
Parish:	HALVERGATE, BROADLAND, NORFOLK
	MAUTBY, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK

Full description

January 2006. Norfolk NMP.
Earthworks of curvilinear and linear drainage ditches and channels of medieval to post medieval date are visible on aerial photographs (S1 to S5). These earthworks extend over a large area and are centred on TG 4736 0734. The main element of this group of earthworks comprises of curvilinear ditches and banks that closely follow the course of an extant drainage ditch. This ditch marks the course of the Northern Rond, a major natural channel across the marshland (S6), which was later incorporated in the drainage system. The ditches and banks extend for approximately 3.6km on a roughly west to east alignment between TG 4600 0903 to TG 4876 0835. Earthworks of several former channels and successive levee banks are present along its route. The importance and early date of the Northern Rond channel is supported by that fact that it formed the boundary of five former parishes (Runham and detached parts of Cantley, South Walsham, Postwick and Acle).

Numerous curvilinear and linear ditches lead into the main curvilinear ditch. At TG 4711 0865 a separate ditch branches off of the main channel towards the northeast. The main part of this ditch extends for approximately 950m on a curving west to east alignment between TG 4741 0882 and TG 4830 0861. Its is flanked by narrow earthwork banks along part of its length and is cut by the Norwich to Great Yarmouth railway line that opened in 1883. At the western end of this section it is joined by a curvilinear ditch from the north and a linear ditch from the south. The curvilinear ditch to the north is cut by the Norwich to Great Yarmouth turnpike road which was constructed in the 1820s. It is likely that these ditches represent the medieval and post medieval drainage pattern prior to the construction of the road and railway. It is possible that the smaller curvilinear ditches also originated as natural channels. It is likely that the linear drainage ditches are mainly of post medieval date.
J. Albone (NMP), 23 January 2006

November 2013.
Google Earth imagery from 1999 (S7) suggests these earthworks may have been plough levelled in some places.
K. Powell (HES), 18 November 2013.

Monument Types

DITCH (Undated)
NATURAL FEATURE? (Undated)
BANK (EARTHWORK) (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
DRAINAGE DITCH (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

SHINE

Sources and further reading

<S1>	Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1951. RAF 540/465 3184-6 20-APR-1951 (NMR).
<S2>	Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1963. RAF 543/2531 (F22) 22-3 14-NOV-1963 (NMR).
<S3>	Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1964. RAF 58/6161 (F21) 13-4 07-FEB-1964 (NMR).
<S4>	Vertical Aerial Photograph: CUCAP. 1980. CUCAP RC8DJ111 23-JAN-1980 (CUCAP).
<S5>	Vertical Aerial Photograph: CUCAP. 1980. CUCAP RC8DJ142 23-JAN-1980 (CUCAP).
<S6>	Monograph: Williamson, T.. 1997. The Norfolk Broads: A Landscape History.. pp 41, 70.
<S7>	Vertical Aerial Photograph: Google Earth. ? - present. Google Earth Orthophotographs. https://earth.google.com/web. 01/01/1999 Accessed 18-NOV-2013.