Probably late 16th century counter walls, Old Hall Marshes (EHER 16717)

Twenty two sections of linear earthworks consisting of raised banks usually with flanking ditches, located inside the sea walls on Old Hall Marshes. They can be interpreted as either counter walls constructed during the reclamation of the marsh, causeways for sheep and cattle located on the marsh before and after reclamation and as general flood/brackish water barriers.

A number of banked linear features, visible on aerial photographs, which represent former sea-walls used in the process of reclaiming the marsh. <1> - <5> 1995. Aerial photograph interpretation. Many stretches have also been located by aerial transcription undertaken by D. Strachan in 1995 as part of the National Mapping Programme. <6> September 1999. Field survey. Twenty two sections of linear earthworks consisting of raised banks usually with flanking ditches have been located on Old Hall Marshes. The majority of these were recorded during analytical survey by English Heritage (Cambridge Office) during September 1999. See archive report. The most popular interpretation of these earthworks are as counter walls constructed during the reclamation of the marsh. The date of this is unknown but they are thought to date from the late 16th century endeavours of the then landowner Sir Thomas Gardiner. Construction is likely to have occurred in several phases. A number of banks which are of a sinuous nature and enclose individual areas are likely to predate the present day sea wall. Other stretches are contemporary with or post date the present sea wall and are likely to represent flood barriers and would have assisted in the routine traffic of livestock and vehicles to the various grazing marshes. A further interpretation is that the banks are raised causeways for the safe passage of sheep, pre-dating the main sea wall when the area was simply saltings. Many of the sinuous banks are now redundant and severely eroded projecting only slightly above the level of the marsh. It is likely that many have also been removed, the material a valuable resource for repairing the most recent sea wall and infilling the uneven marshland. Many were also flattened when marshland was taken into arable. For a full inventory on the individual banks see the Old Hall Marshes Survey report and associated plans. <7> <8> <9> Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. Note: These earthworks are not to be confused with the 18th century sea wall on Old Hall Marshes, see EHER 82253.