Late 18th century counterwall, Blue House Farm Nature Reserve (EHER 82914)

A counterwall which was in place by 1775, running along the south side of the fleet in a sinuous course to a point north-east of Blue House Farm. A curious diversion occurs along the course of the wall.

March-May 1999. Fieldwalking survey. This record records 'wall 9' which was in place by 1775, running along the south side of the fleet in a sinuous course to a point north-east of Blue House Farm; at this point, it has been removed and the furrows of land drains cut across its denuded line. However, in 1775, just east of its present end, the wall turned north then west inside the line of the present drainage ditch, almost as far as the Fambridge road. A curious diversion, ('wall 9a'), occurs along the course of wall. The wall is formed into a rectangular ‘enclosure’ of some 44.0m by 28.0m, open only to the fleet side. Although shown on the 1775 map, it is clearly an alteration to the original wall, the stubs of which can be seen forming a straight line across the open side, with a gap only for the passage of a small creek. Although the purpose of this ‘enclosure’ is unknown, it presumably contained something. Several small depressions inside might be ponds or tanks, perhaps connected with salt making, oyster farming or stock watering. <1> October 2015. Watching brief. An 800m long, 3.5m wide, ditch was excavated with a toothless bucket along the North edge of Flat Fields, at the base of the existing counterwall and mostly within the confines of the pre-existing channel dug during the construction of said counterwall that bounds the field. At the slightly higher West end of the field, the recut ditch depth was approximately 1m, which intruded into the undisturbed natural geology and below the original channel by approximately 0.2m. Towards the SE end of the ditch, the depth of re-cutting decreased to about 0.7-0.8m and was therefore wholly contained within the original channel. Post-medieval/modern material, including a plastic container, metal farming refuse, ceramic land drains, and concrete based fence posts, was observed within the fill of the old channel. The previous channel appeared to be wider than the new re-cut. Consequently, very little of the original cut was exposed by these works. <2>