562 MR. W. G. CLARKE 0N : BRECKLAND CHARACTERISTICS. 
the tedium which its bleakness and sterility produce upon it. 
It may be denominated an ocean of sand producing little 
besides nettles and brakes, with here and there an islet of 
firs.”* Late in the 18th century the plantations through 
which the road runs to make the Elveden “ gaps ” were 
planted, and were said to be the earliest Scotch firs in the 
district. The 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735-1811) had a great 
aversion to the broad ditches with their honeycombed banks, 
and used to call them “ Suffolk graves,” and the 6th Earl 
of Albemarle, who records this in ‘ Fifty Years of my Life ’ 
(1876), adds that “ the whole country is a mere rabbit warren, 
and still goes by the name of the ‘ holey land.’ ” About 
the same period we have Robert Bloomfield’s references in 
‘ Barnham Water ’ (1802), to “ the bleak, unwooded scene,” 
the barren fields,” and the “ slope of burning sand.” 
Britton’s ‘ Description of the County of Norfolk ’ (1819), 
mentions the “ great expanse of heath and unenclosed land, 
stript of every timber tree.” In 1820 there were no trees 
between Thetford and Elveden, and Thetford and Brandon, 
and about this time there was a sandstorm of such severity 
that the particles broke over 100 panes of glass in a coach- 
builder’s establishment on London Road, Thetford. Before 
proper roads were made on these wastes there was real danger 
in trying to follow the tracks under certain weather conditions. 
Several lives have been lost owing to snow rendering land- 
marks unfamiliar and necessitating a night’s exposure on the 
wilds. Writing in his diary on March 23rd, 1837, Mr. J. D. 
Salmon, F.L.S., of Thetford, said, “ Heavy fall of snow. 
A very bad journey from Lakenheath in ye evening. Could 
not see my way, there being no tracks. Fortunately I did 
not get off the road.” 
As a result of the passing of local Enclosure Acts in the late 
18th or early 19th century, many portions of ancient heath 
were broken up and became “ brecks.” In the century or so 
that has since elapsed, there have been many changes in their 
appearance. Some have been sub-divided and fenced, 1 ^ and 
* ‘ Life of the Rev. W. Kirby, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., Rector of Barham. 
By John Freeman, M.A. (1852), p. 107. 
