Broads Landscape Character Assessment (2006)

1

Local Character Area 9. Waveney Valley – St. Olaves to Burgh Castle

1. Burgh Castle Roman Fort (Photo: Mike Page)

Survey Points: TG 50119575; TG 47310383; TG 46950246; TG 45200043

Boundaries: This area is bounded by the River Waveney to the west and the footpath south of Church Farm, Burgh Castle to the north. The eastern boundary follows the Broads Authority’s Executive Area boundaries but includes Belton Fen wetland as far as Butt Lane and follows the edge of the floodplain around Waveney Forest before following the line of the disused railway to the former bridge at Haddiscoe. Natural and Cultural Area Designations

• Conservation Area – Included as part of wider Halvergate Marshes Area

• Open Access – Belton Common

Key Characteristics Topography and Relief

• Narrow floodplain levels at around –1m OD to 1m OD with a series of tributary valleys incised through the higher ground to the east.

Geology and Soils

• The marshland area is Breydon formation silty clay for the most part bounded by a narrow band of peat at the upland edge of the floodplain. The valley sides and upland here are part of an extensive area of sand.

Scale and Pattern

• This area is not large in itself but there is vast openness to the west, south-west and north with large elements (pylons, the boatyards, Waveney Forest).

• This area contains a series of small scale drainage levels with a number of curvilinear drainage dykes.

• Drainage mills are dotted on the horizon.

Land Cover

• Grazing marsh with a significant proportion under plough.

• Coniferous plantation heathland on upland with carr woodland fringe and areas of development.

• There are wide reed ronds along the river.

Land Use

• Mixed arable and pastoral farming

• Land based leisure/holiday industry

• Large scale modern boatyard marina and industry

• Reed cutting on the wide ronds.

Settlement

• Settlement/Development within the area is centred around St. Olaves and Burgh Castle with the more significant settlement of Belton on the edge of the area.

Remoteness and/or Tranquillity

• Much of this area has quite a bleak and remote feel.

• The potentially more visually intrusive caravan park developments are generally well screened.

Character Area Description In essence this area comprises relatively small areas of silty clay marshland with a wooded backdrop to the east, large floodbanks and wide reed ronds to the west with some large scale boatyard/marina complexes. This area has broadly the same

physical characteristics as C.A. 8. However it is subject to far greater impacts from built development and tourism. The views to the west are longer than in C.A. 8. The valley opens up and the settlement at Reedham and Cantley factory are both visible. Some large pylons are particularly prominent.

2. Fritton Marshes – Wide open arable marshland and big skies

The adjacent upland previously comprised large areas of sandy heathland which was common land or managed rabbit warren. The heathland today, where it is not under the plough, is either covered in coniferous plantation or put to various leisure uses – usually either golf course or holiday park. There is however one relict gorse-covered, open access area at Belton. The gradient of the valley sides tend to be more gentle here than in C.A. 8, other than at Burgh Castle Roman Fort where instead of the usual marsh and peat fringe, a deposit of glacial till surrounded by sand sits close to the river. Character Areas 8 and 9 have a series of side valley tributaries (or former tributaries). Belton Fen and Fritton Decoy both relate to this area. These long watery fingers are generally excluded from the Broads Authority’s Executive Area. However the western end of Belton Fen has been included here. Fritton Decoy, which is hydrologically detached from the Broad’s network, has not. The scale and varying leisure uses of Fritton Decoy/Lake and its mature wooded environs means it has developed its own distinct identity.

The Marshes and Ronds This area comprises two main areas of marshland - Fritton and Caldecott/ Belton. Fritton Marshes have been subject to large scale conversion to arable use and consequently a large number

Broads Landscape Character Assessment (2006)

2

of drainage dykes have been infilled and their associated boundary features - the gates and ‘wings’ - have been lost. (Plate 2.)

3. View west from the Belton Marshes

The Belton/Caldecott Marshes by contrast appear to have seen rather less change and retain a number of sinuous dyke boundaries. Both areas retain their drainage mills, which along with the large number visible across the river make these a significant feature of this area. Public access to much of this area is limited with no floodwall footpaths in the marshland area. This area contains other smaller areas of grazing marsh around St Olaves – the Priory marshes (formerly drained by the small boarded skeleton mill there) and Scale Marshes to the south of the Beccles road. The western end of Belton Fen which has been drained and grazed over a long period is also visually similar to the adjacent grazing marshes. The commercially managed wide reed ronds along the lower Waveney are also a distinctive feature of this area. The floodwalls have been established quite a distance from the river to provide an area of washland. Some have been grazed in the past but are more commonly managed for reed today. The Built Development The two main areas of settlement and development are at Burgh Castle and St. Olaves. Both have dominant, industrial scale boatyard/marina areas with an abundance of metal security fencing. Both also have historic areas at their core. The Roman fort at Burgh Castle is one of the most important historic sites in the county while at St. Olaves is the remains of an Augustinian Priory, and an old waterside settlement core including the Bell Inn and a cluster of older dwellings opposite (albeit heavily modernised).

4. 5. Burgh Castle boat yard and marina and St. Olave’s Bridge and Industry Both also have holiday chalet areas. St. Olaves has a run of timber chalets, none of which appear particularly old. At Burgh Castle, the holiday area is far more extensive. The Marina caravan park comprises a marina for 140 boats along with static caravans, touring pitches, and lodges. Adjacent to this is the Waveney Valley holiday village consisting of 100 chalets. These areas link up to larger static caravan parks that have become such a feature of the upland to the north of Fritton Decoy. The Burgh Castle Roman Fort (TG47400455), a Scheduled Ancient Monument, is one of a series of Roman coastal forts. Lesser remains of another are sited across the former estuary at Caister. The extent of the remains here are striking, with walls and bastions surviving to full height on three sides of the rectangular plan. The western wall is thought to have long since tumbled into the marshland below. The remains are a feature in the landscape across a wide area. For visitors, the absence of the western wall has the effect of opening the structure out to the river, reedbed and marshland beyond. This vantage point provides exceptional views out across the Halvergate Marshes and Haddiscoe Island from which it is not difficult to visualise the former Roman estuary. The site is now in the care of Norfolk Archaeological Trust.

Other Sites and Features of Note

• Scheduled Ancient Monument: St. Olave’s Priory.

• Listed drainage windmills survive at St Olaves (TM 45599963), Caldecott (TG 465021), Belton (TG 467935) and Fritton Marsh (TG 450998)

• Site of Burgh Castle Brick and Cement Works (TG 474044). Important industrial archaeology site. The marina now occupies 2/3rds; N.I.A.S have recorded the remainder largely hidden beneath scrub growth.

• St Olaves Bridge (TM 4569942) Early and important example of cast iron bowstring girder bridge & site of ancient ferry crossing. (plate 5)

The Norfolk and Suffolk Historic Environment Records www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk and www.suffolk.gov.uk/Environment/Archaeology/SitesandMonumentsRecord/ should be consulted for details of all known historic sites within this area.

Condition There are some derelict areas of industry, buildings and land around the St. Olaves bridge area and some derelict fencing around the Burgh Castle marina. Condition is poor from an ecological perspective with areas of dried out fen, arable marshland and only small relict areas of heathland remaining. Forces for Change

• Settlement Fringe pressures

• Holiday village/static caravans/lodges expansion

• Aggregate extraction

• Water abstraction

• Fritton Marshes have been identified as a potential candidate under a wetland creation scheme.

Literary and Artistic Associations Prolific Victorian novelist ‘James Blyth’ was based in Fritton and wrote some 60 books inspired by the local area. His portrait as a boy was painted by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Frederick Sandys and is held by Norwich Castle Museum. Additional Bibliography Gurney, David, Outposts of the Roman Empire: A Guide to Norfolk’s Roman Forts at Burgh Castle, Caister-on-Sea and Brancaster (Norfolk Archaeological Trust, 2002) Hutchinson, Sheila, Burgh Castle Remembered (Norwich: Sheila and Paul Hutchinson, 2005) Manning, Mary, ‘Burgh Castle Cement and Brickworks’ in Journal of Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society, Vol. 6, I. (1996) Skipper, Kate and Tom Williamson, The Angles Way: Walking in an Historic Landscape (Norwich: Centre of East Anglian Studies, 1993)

LCA area 9 Page 1

BLCA addendum: Area 9: Waveney Valley – St

Olaves to Burgh Castle

Special and scenic qualities of the Broads which are represented in the character area

• The wide floodplain and the vast open character of this area are relevant to two of the

identified special qualities of the Broads (the wide, open landscape with its winding

waterways, big skies and the sense of space). Also applicable are the opportunities

afforded by the river for boating and sailing.

Remoteness and tranquillity

• The landscape of this area has a relatively strong sense of tranquillity with a mostly rural

character. The CPRE Intrusion Mapping identifies local intrusions at Belton and the A143

as negatively influencing the sense of tranquillity. Other localised intrusions include

development such as pylons, large scale boatyards and caravan parks – Kingfisher and

Wild Duck, most of which are in adjacent character areas within Great Yarmouth Borough.

Enclosure and scale

• A landscape with a clear sense of openness to the west, south west and north, due to open

marshland character and intervisibility with adjacent marshland landscapes. This is

reinforced by the valley floor which ranges in width from 700-900m, and which opens out

onto the adjacent open Chedgrave Marshes within character area 18.

• An elongated narrow floodplain east of the River Waveney which is contained by the river

to the west and a wooded ridge at 8-10m AOD to the east (the escarpment on which

Burgh Castle is sited), and which creates localised enclosure. This sense of enclosure is

reinforced by the presence of Waveney Forest and associated perceived narrowing of the

valley at this point.

Light and reflectivity

• A vast expanse of open water is created by the course of the River Waveney and its

confluence with the Yare in the adjacent character area (Area 18: Haddiscoe Island), which

forms the start of Breydon Water. Depending on the tide, this water creates a

considerable sense of reflectivity in the landscape.

Pattern and texture

• A large part of this landscape is grazing marsh with much of it ploughed. The ridge to the

east is largely planted with coniferous plantation and carr woodland at the base of the

valley sides. This, together with the reed ronds fringing the Waveney, creates colour and

texture in the landscape.

• There are two main areas of marshland - Fritton and Caldecott/Belton. Fritton Marshes

have undergone large scale infill of dykes while Caldecott/Belton marshes have retained a

number of curvilinear dyke boundaries.

Sense of time depth

• HLC data shows much of this landscape to be defined by 19th-20th century grazing marsh,

with saltings and managed wetlands adjacent to the course of the Waveney.

• The land to the sandy ridge top to the east was formerly sandy heathland, although this is

now mainly plantation or used for leisure purposes (golf and holiday parks).

• Fritton Marsh has been significantly altered and undergone large scale conversion to arable

resulting in the infill of boundary dykes.

• The Roman fort at Burgh Castle and the Augustinian Priory at St. Olaves are significant

historic elements within the area with the former being one of the most important Roman

sites in the county.

LCA area 9 Page 2

Skylines

• An open landscape with expansive views over the Waveney towards the Yare and Breydon

Water. Skylines to the west are predominantly of simple, open, undeveloped character

(marshes and expansive valley floor), whilst the wooded ridge to the east forms a

prominent and distinctive skyline element.

• Vertical elements such as drainage mills such as at Berney Arms and those on the

Halvergate Marshes, are prominent skyline elements, as are pylons within Great

Yarmouth’s Hobland Settled Farmland character area1, to the east.

Visibility and intervisibility

• This landscape has extensive intervisibility with the marshland landscapes to the west, all

of which fall within the Executive Area – views west to Haddiscoe Island and the panorama

of the Halvergate Marshes. This is especially apparent from elevated vantage points such

as from the Angles Way adjacent to the ruins of Burgh Castle to the north eastern part of

the character area, from where views are available across the river confluence.

• The wooded ridge on which Burgh Castle is sited, at the edge of Great Yarmouth’s Hobland

Settled Farmland character area, defines the extent of views to the east.

Accessibility and experience/recreation

• Recreational use of the river has resulted in tourism related development on the fringes of

the character area, such as boatyards and caravan parks which extend into the eastern

fringe of the character area west of Belton, and St Olaves Boatyard.

• Pedestrian access is limited within the area although the Angles Way facilitates access to

the edge of the marshes from the network of paths and trails around Burgh Castle. In

addition PROW access is provided near the Bell Inn at St Olaves and adjacent to the A143

which crosses the river at this point.

1 Great Yarmouth Borough Council and LUC, 2008 Great Yarmouth Borough Landscape Character Assessment:

http://www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/environment-planning/planning/planning-policy/local-development-framework/ldf-

background-evidence-studies.htm