nr Hillington

Searching the 1946 aerials on Norfolk E-Map Explorer for something completely different my eye is caught by a feature east of the Village of Hillington, which itself lies east of King's Lynn on the A148. E-Map Link .

It appears to be a mown grass strip on a roughly north-south orientation. Using Google Maps I'd estimated it at around 700-900' in length. I know this is ridiculously short, but it's just within the short field performance of the Lysander and Austers, and the map tile clips the northern edge.

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It could be agricultural, the area is now under the plough, but it seems an oddly precise shape to me.

There is nothing on the NHER records, other than a note that the circular area is known as the Belmont Ring and was associated with the post-medieval Belmont House (dismantled sometime before 1826). NHER 3505 .

I am drawing a blank with online searches. Am I seeing an airstrip where there is none? Or, has someone come across a reference they couldn't place and this fits the bill?

That's a possibility, but airfield or small arms range I can't connect it with anything else of the period. And it looks freshly mown in 1946. I may have erred towards underestimating it's length, bringing the 1988 aerials into view (via the E-Map link above) I realise misjudged aligning the northern end on Google Maps, so it's closer to 900-1,000' in length. There are clear parch marks still showing in the 1988 aerials which suggests compacted ground.

Another puzzle for the next time I visit the county archives..