SNN108270 - Dodford Manor Farm, Dodford, Northamptonshire: Historic Building Recording

During April 2011 Albian Archaeology carried out historic building recording at Dodford Manor Farm, Dodford to the east of Daventry, on behalf of ctd architects. The results of the building recording show that the earliest building on the site dates to the 17th, possibly 16th, century with the construction of the barn (Building C) and a number of associated buildings which are shown on a map of 1742 but which would have been demolished soon after that time. This places the buildings within the so-called ‘great age of rebuilding’ described by Hoskins (1955). The farm largely took on its present form sometimes after the completion of the 1742 map with the incorporation of the barn (Building C) into a range of farm yards associated with a new house built on the site. The 18th century changes to the built environment reflect ownership changes within the surrounding estate, but also took place within a period of more consolidated landholdings and the introduction of more advanced farming techniques which allowed production for the developing urban markets. The farmstead represents the development of a typical mixed farm that would have produced meat and cereal for local markets and possibly those further afield. The 18th century layout shows stock yards either side of a threshing barn, a typical arrangement which meant that stored fodder was in easy reach of the stock, most likely predominately comprising dairy cows. Although the barn and associated buildings have been repaired and altered over time, the 18th century farm retains its plan form and contains a relatively complete 16th/17th-century barn, the only surviving structure of an earlier group of farm buildings that once stood on the site. Those buildings have local significance but also demonstrate the wider historic context of changes of changes in land holding and agricultural practice. Over the past two decades, there has been a significant loss of unlisted farm buildings through conversion or repair increasing the importance of ensuring an adequate record.