SNN111459 - Archaeological research, building recording and analysis at Armada House, Weston, Northamptonshire 2012-13

A programme of building recording and analysis accompanied reconstruction of Armada House after it was gutted by fire in 2011. Together with a targeted suite of core samples for tree-ring dating, the work shows that the house originates in two parts, the north range being completed probably around c1591, soon after its traditional construction date of 1588, but built to deliberately incorporate a late 15th- to early 16th-century oak ceiling and its frame, imported from a late medieval building elsewhere; the south wing appears to have been freshly built, perhaps replacing an earlier building (of which little remains discernible), and roofed in 1640 or very soon after. Both portions were altered and restored in the third quarter of the 19th century, probably soon after 1864, when further medieval and late 16th century elements were re-used from unknown origins, possibly other buildings on the site. Most of the south range interiors date from this period. Map evidence shows that the north range was formerly about a third longer to the east than it is, while a small extension also used to stand on the north side of the north range. These elements were lost when the house was subsequently cut down to its present footprint around 1950.