Details

The monument comprises the well preserved remains of an abandoned rural
settlement. The village is located on a tributary of the River Wensum and was
occupied in the Medieval period. It may be the lost village of Sengham whose
church was abandoned after being given to Castle Acre Priory. In 1410 the
village is recorded as having 12 tenants, however, by the middle of the 16th
century it was all but abandoned; a fate shared by up to a quarter of the
village settlements of Medieval England.
Many traces of the settlement are visible as earthworks preserved under
pasture. They include the outlines of houses and yards, hollow-way tracks
and, beneath a recent plantation, the well preserved foundations of a large
building, thought to be the remains of a church. The site has never been
excavated.
The settlement is located near to two Medieval moats, one of which (now
totally levelled) was located just to the north of the village and several
Medieval field systems. The impressive remains of East Rudham Priory are
located 1km to the north-west.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Deserted Medieval villages are a major type of monument of the Medieval
period. They tell us much about the economy and settlement of Medieval rural
England. Broomsthorpe is a fine example of a lowland abandoned settlement
containing a range of buildings and features. These include the foundations of
a large building thought to be the church and possibly identifying the
settlement as the lost village of Sengham. The earthworks are sharply defined
and survive in good condition. The location of features near to the river
indicates the potential preservation of water-logged remains and as such the
monument has good future archaeological potential. The monument is further
enhanced by its association with a range of monuments from the same period
including a Priory, two moats and field systems, which together make up a
well-articulated Medieval landscape, largely unaffected by later occupation.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Batcock, N, 'East Anglian Archaeology' in The Ruined Churches of Norfolk, ()

Source: Historic England