Building record 46/9/1 - College Farmhouse, Round Town

A 17th-century farmhouse, remodelled in c1880. Constructed of coursed limestone rubble, slate roof, brick stacks.

{1} Farmhouse. C17. Remodelled c.1800. Coursed limestone rubble, slate roof, brick stacks. Retains C17 pattern of fenestration and through passage plan. 2 storeys, 4 bays. Doorway, second bay from left has wood lintel and 6-panel door. Sash windows with wood lintel to left. 2 similar windows to right. Sash window with wood lintels on first floor. Interior: Early C18 panelled doors, not in situ. Fireplaces and panelled shutter of c.1800.

{3} The existing buildings comprise a traditional set of farm buildings, probably with medieval origins, but mostly dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. If these reflect earlier use of the site (this may be the site of the medieval hospital of St. John and St. James), the hospital may always have been near the front of the site ie near the present farmhouse, with the large barn yard sloping down hill as the stable yard.

Cartographic evidence shows that there have been no substantial changes within College Farm from the earliest map of 1696 up to the present day.
The earliest plan of College Farm is on a map of 1696. Buildings VII and VIII and an earlier building on the site of Building Ill are shown fronting Banbury Road. They are separated by gateways allowing access onto the road. Building IV is shown extending southwards from the Banbury Road. The western half of College Farm is marked as ‘College Home Close and Orchard’ (five acres). A stone boundary wall encloses both College Farm and College Home Close and Orchard. The Orchard is enclosed by a square (artificial) watercourse which extends westwards to the boundary of College Farm. From the farm boundary it joins the head of a natural watercourse, the Hobrook. The farmhouse (Building XI) is also shown.
A map of 1763 shows the buildings and gardens of the farm in detail. The House with wings at both north and south is shown with the farmyard with three ranges along the road (Buildings VII, VIII and an earlier building on the site of III) and two at right-angles (Building IV and an earlier building on the site of Building II). The walled garden as at present, including the square ‘Orchard’ area shown on the previous plan, and with a central path continued outside the walls to the west as an avenue. It also shows a building, presumably a dovecote in a field named Dovehouse Close
A map of 1812 shows Buildings III, IV. And VIII apparently unchanged from the estate map of 1763. Building VII is no longer connected to Building IV. No trees are shown where there was once a square orchard: this area appears to have been combined with a plot of land to the east to form a larger rectangular plot of land that extends right to the main house. Other changes include an extension on the south east corner of the main house.

A larger scale map of 1793 shows College Farm in less detail. The main layout has remained unchanged although Buildings II and VIII and the extension on the south west corner of the main house are not shown. This may be due to the lack of detail on the map. The related Enclosure award indicates that College Farm is ‘old enclosure of Magdalen College’. College Home Close is referred to as ‘The Hollows’.

The Ordnance Survey 1st Edition 25” plan of 1883 indicates that there have been several changes to College Farm: Building V has been added to the southern end of Building IV; Building IV is now connected to Building VII by Building VIA (fronting Banbury Road); Building VIII is shown; Building X has been built as an annexe to the main house; the southern part of the main house (shown in 1696) has been removed; two small rectangular buildings are shown at the west end of the orchard (Building I).

The OS Second Edition 25” plans of 1900 and 1923 show no change to the buildings. The OS 6” map (1955) shows no change, while the OS 1:2,500 map (1977) marks the appearance of a large square building, ‘The Grain Store’. Subsequent OS
10.000 maps of 1982 and 1992 are the same and show no change within the area of proposed development.

Building X: Stable and hayloft
Two-storey building. Four-bay hayloft with softwood and iron purlin roof, low pitch slated. Squared stone walls except for north gable which has rubble wall ?of older building and curved ribbon of brick indicating flue beneath truncated brick chimney at apex. West side has three arched doors to former stables divided by brick walls, with through passage on east side at back (with low openings, possibly made later for turkeys). Blocked door visible internally within north gable, at end of through passage, suggests rise in external floor surface. Separate room at south end of ground floor with kinked stone wall to south. Probably 19th century. First shown on OS 1st edition 25” plan of 1883.

Building Xl: The Dairy

Stone-flagged dairy with thick walls, two splayed windows in south wall (another above and between them), door to lean-to on west and door to north. High ceiling, not examined above. Clearly an ancient building. Brick piers with lead vats or timber supports for same where removed. Lean-to on north side, part brick, part stone. East wall all rebuilt in C18/19th, and low-pitch roof (not seen) probably of that date. Ground floor section to east of dairy divided into 2 rooms, room to south domestic (but not examined), room to north housing tank/plant? With Cl6th? Chamfered principal and common joists with distinctive stops. Possibly medieval with later alterations and extensions. Apparently oldest and most significant surviving building at College Farm and the only structure which may have formed part of the medieval hospital of St. James and St. John.

Building XII: The Farmhouse
Single-build in coursed rubble, with timber lintels on windows. Three-room plan with through passage and stair. Flagged floor, sash windows with shutters (c.45 deep). Chimneystacks in end walls, and one more.
Between the house and Building X is a lean-to structure with a low-pitch roof with three slotted purlins (?all of pine), and an oven (now a shower room) in the north wall.
Externally three stacks, slate roof, 4 windows on east side, two blind. Masonry of consistent build. Probably late C18th or early C19th. Before 1813 when described as ‘newly built’.

{6} The most notable feature of the site is the lack of finds and in particular the lack of any medieval material. Given that the development site was close to the medieval Hospital of St John and St James, this is perhaps a surprise. It strongly suggests that the farm buildings shown on the plan of 1696 were the first structures on the site, and were of post-medieval date with no medieval precursors.

{7} Undated photo;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 12/34 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F01 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<3> OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT, 1999, Land at College Farm, Aynho, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Desk Based Assessment and Building Recording, (checked) (Report). SNN43379.

<4> 1812, Plan of the Village of Aynho (1812 based on a survey undertaken between 1696 and 1793), (unchecked) (Map). SNN75725.

<5> 1793, Aynho Enclosure Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN10084.

<6> Scott, I., 1999, College Farm, Aynho, Northamptonshire, Archaeological Evaluation Report, (checked) (Report). SNN101731.

<7> Photographs of buildings in Aynho (Photographs). SNN111880.

<8> 1763, The Magdalen College Estate Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN55237.

<9> 1696/1720, The Topographical Descripton of the Lordship of the Manor of Aynho, Being the Land of Thomas Cartwright Esquire (NRO Map 4612 C(A)6268 (Map of Aynho)), (unchecked) (Map). SNN109339.

Record last edited

Sep 30 2022 1:08PM