Landscape History

The landscape of Broadland Country Park (BCP) contains a range of historic features which illustrate various phases of use and management. The general structure of the landscape today owes much to the impact of enclosure in the late eighteenth century but there are also earthwork remains that relate to earlier periods. What follows is a discussion of the most visible surviving landscape features, their likely date, use and relationship to the wider surrounding landscape. This is based in part on fieldwork and research carried out by Landscape History students from the University of East Anglia in 2022 and 2023. The intention here is not to provide an exhaustive and comprehensive landscape history of BCP but rather to highlight key features and events that have shaped the landscape we see today, with a particular focus on the earthwork remains that can be seen in the Park and on broader changes in the landscape as revealed through historic maps and documents.