Black Rabbit Warren

Map of Location

Warren Features

Other documentary evidence

The warren on the Wretham Estate is named on Faden’s 1797 Map as ‘Wretham Warren’ but on later maps it is ‘Black Rabbit Warren’. It may be a post-medieval foundation with the earliest known record a lease of 1650. Black rabbits were regarded as exclusive to Methwold Warren so was this a deliberate attempt to establish a new colony here?

Agreement ref lands 1546; Copies of Court Rolls 1552-1593; Terrier 1624 Manor belonging to Eton College; Lease 1650; Sales Parts 1910 Warren House Farm, Smokers’ Hole Cottages;
Print of heathland near Smokers’ Hole -undated; 900 years of a Norfolk Estate Melinda Raker 1995.

[NRO MC265/1 684X8,
NRO NAS 1/11/20/153,
NRO NAS 1/1/1/20/156, NRO NAS 1/1/20/165, Thetford Studies Filing Cabinet NL00068156, NRO MC363/194, PH1, Norfolk Millennium Library]

Boundary Banks

Stonyhill Breck at TL8745 9188 and TL9132 9342.
Parish and warren boundary and enclosures. The parish and part-warren boundary along the eastern edge of most of the site is a multiple bank feature, usually two or four parallel banks, and is shown as a trackway on early maps.

Single=Yes, partly; Double=Yes partly;
Quadruple=Yes partly.
Boundary bank TL 9071 9371 to TL9198 9311 western edge warren / linked to parish boundary to the north.3m wide and 0.8 metres high linked to an east-west bank with up to 5m spread. Southern boundary bank 3m wide.

Trapping Banks

Along the eastern edge of most of the site is a multiple bank feature, usually two or four parallel banks, and is shown as a trackway on early maps.

Earliest documentary evidence

BLACK RABBIT Lease 1650
[NRO NAS 1/1/20/165]

Black Rabbit Warren

Map of Location

Warren Features

Leave a comment