Record Details

NHER Number:6028
Type of record:Monument
Name:Possible Late Saxon manor or medieval moat

Summary

This possible fortified medieval moat site was surveyed in 1980. Roman, Late Saxon, medieval and post medieval fragments of pottery were found. Earthworks were clearly visible on aerial photographs of the area, and these have been mapped as part of the National Mapping Programme.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TL 9701 8541
Map Sheet:TL98NE
Parish:HARLING, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Fortified medieval earthwork site.

1946. RAF aerial photograph.
Oval moated site with rectangular annexe on south.

11 May 1958. Visit.
Enclosure identified on ground.
R.R. Clarke (NCM).
See (S2) for further information.

(S1) records as part of a drainage complex, the annexe being a reservoir.

27 July 1978. Visit.
Now afforested. Suggest the Ordnance Survey mistook the central pond for the annexe. Ditches of the latter are very shallow, now, but ditch on south and east of oval deep, still marshy, with area inside embanked high. Central pond is a puzzle and the whole thing does not look like a moat to me.
E. Rose (NAU), 27 July 1978.

September 1980. Detailed survey.
Suggests a fortified spur.
Produced medieval to post medieval sherds.
Identified by A. Rogerson (NAU).
E. Rose (NAU), 12 January 1981.

1981 to 1983. Fieldwork.
Produced Roman, Late Saxon, medieval sherds.
Identified by A. Rogerson (NAU).
E. Rose (NAU), 13 March 1990.

August 2012. Norfolk NMP.
The site described above is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs (S1) along with a number of other ditch features which appear to relate to drainage. The site is centred on TL 9695 8544, and, despite the clarity of the earthworks, it is difficult to be certain of the site’s function and/or date. It is possible that it relates to a Late Saxon or Medieval manorial site and the dimensions of the oval ditch, approximately 105m by 58m, would be concurrent with this type of site, however the relative freshness of the earthworks would imply a later date, and it may be that the site did in fact perform a drainage function, feeding the central pond or reservoir.
E. Bales (NMP), 28 August 2012.

Monument Types

  • DRAINAGE DITCH (Undated)
  • ENCLOSURE? (Unknown date)
  • FORTIFICATION (Undated)
  • MANOR? (Unknown date)
  • MOAT (Unknown date)
  • ENCLOSURE? (Late Saxon - 851 AD? to 1065 AD?)
  • MANOR? (Late Saxon - 851 AD? to 1065 AD?)
  • MOAT (Late Saxon - 851 AD? to 1065 AD?)
  • ENCLOSURE? (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
  • MANOR? (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
  • MOAT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • DRAINAGE DITCH (Post Medieval - 1540 AD? to 1900 AD?)

Associated Finds

  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Undated)
  • BRICK (Undated)
  • MOLLUSCA REMAINS (Undated)
  • POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • POT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
  • BRICK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • ROOF TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status

  • SHINE

Sources and further reading

---Serial: 1958. Council for British Archaeology Group 7 Bulletin of Archaeological Discoveries. Vol 5. p 3.
---Article in Serial: Davison, A. J. 1983. The Distribution of Medieval Settlements in West Harling. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XXXVIII Pt III pp 329-336.
---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TL 98 NE 19.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Archive: Norfolk Monuments Management Project File.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Medieval. Harling.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
<S1>Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF CPE/UK/1801 3152-3 25-OCT-1946 (NHER TL 9685A).
<S2>Article in Serial: Wilson, D. M. and Hurst, J. G. 1960. Medieval Britain in 1958. Medieval Archaeology. Vol III (for 1959) pp 295-326. p 317.

Related records - none

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