Cranberry Rough - History and management

 

Ancient History

This area was once the site of a large lake, left by the retreating glaciers of the last Ice Age 10 -12,000 years ago.

For the neolithic hunters, 10,000 years ago, to the people of the medieval Manor of Hockham, the lake would have been a vital source of fish and fowl. There are records of a ‘fish house’ here in 1380.

In Tudor times there was still a large lake, of around 280 acres, called Hockham Mere, but it gradually silted up and by 1737 it was simply a swamp.

Managing the waters

The passion for land improvement in the 18th century resulted in a network of dykes crisscrossing the swamp. By the end of the century Cranberry Rough had become fully drained agricultural land used for grazing and reed cutting.

The story since then is of man’s repeated attempts and failures to keep the land drained and productive.

By 1920 it was, once again, a swamp; grazing was abandoned and tree seedlings began to establish and invade the open fen.

In 1932 the flooding was so bad that the railway line (the track of which this path now follows), had to be substantially raised.

Ancient Records of climate change

In the 9 metre depth of peat and sediment below this site, lie the records of ancient forests. Studies of the tree pollen trapped in the layers of peat of the old lake bed of Hockham Mere have revealed changing climate and vegetation of Breckland since the last Ice Age.

First came the Birch forests of the cold tundra, followed by warmer periods when Pine and Hazel dominated, then the temperate Oak forests of historic times.

Microscopic tree pollen found in peat beds

Alder	Birch	Elm	Hazel	Oak	Pine

A New Direction

Ultimately, the lack of success in keeping the drains maintained has meant that wetland species have survived and now thrive here. With its designation as an SSSI in 1961, the emphasis has switched instead, to preserving the wetlands as a valuable, and increasingly rare, habitat for the rich variety of plants, insects and birds found here.

Illustrations by Beverly Curl.