SNN108068 - Westhill Farmhouse, Culworth, Northamptonshire: Historic Building Recording

Birmingham Archaeology was commissioned by Cluttons, Styles and Whitlock in May 2010 to undertake historic building recording in respect of Westhill Farmhouse, Culworth, Northamptonshire, centred on NGR: SP 54079 47123. The building recording was carried out in order to ensure that any future renovation/conservation work at Westhill Farmhouse is informed by a detailed and accurate understanding of the historic development of the fabric of the structure, as has been requested by the South Northamptonshire Conservation Officer as part of the pre-planning stage of an anticipated future planning application. The principal aim of the historic building recording was to ascertain, from the readily available documentary and graphic sources and on site visual analysis, the historic development of Westhill Farmhouse. The building was recorded to Level 2 as specified by English Heritage, with a unstable section recorded to a higher level of detail. The historic building recording revealed a building with an interesting and often illusive general an architectural history and development. The primary phase of Westhill Farmhouse was constructed in the early 17th century. This two-storey phase is of ironstone rubble laid to courses with limestone banding. Internally this phase is characterised by a ground-floor hall with chequerboard stone flooring and small square panelling, whilst first floor level has a highly impressive bedroom with small square panelling complete with strapwork friezing and an integrated wooden fireplace with a notable Jacobean overmantel. The late 17th century saw an extension and an addition added to give the farmhouse a ‘U’ shaped plan, providing further living and utility space in the form of a kitchen, a dairy, a pigeon loft, a cellar, another living room, and an impressive bedroom with fielded panelling and a stone bolection moulded fireplace. Later developments included further extensions to the rear in the 18th and 19th centuries, the construction of outbuildings, and the removal of the original stairs. 18th century and later alterations to the west wall of the late 17th century southern addition have served to make this wall structurally unsound. These alterations saw the blocking up of two late 17th century basement and ground floor windows, the insertion of a brick chimney and flue, the creation of a cupboard and curing area though hollowing out of the original wall and by the insertion of another wall from basement level upwards. Westhill Farmhouse poses a number of questions as to its original status and tenurial history. It is clearly not simply the residence of a typical or well off yeoman farmer. Its orientation, size, decoration, associated buildings and history all point to a loftier if perhaps manorial status, conceivably serving as the home farm of the manor.