SNN112380 - Wigsthorpe House Farm. Wigsthorpe, Northamptonshire. Historic Building Recording

This report presents the results of a programme of Historic Building Recording undertaken by Witham Archaeology at Wigsthorpe House Farm, Main Street, Wigsthorpe, Northamptonshire. The project was commissioned by Ross Thain Architects on behalf of their client, the Society of Merchant Ventures as Endowment Trustee for St. Monica Trust, in response to a condition of full planning permission imposed by East Northamptonshire District Council. The proposed development comprises part demolition of an existing steel barn, demolition of an existing concrete barn and conversion of the remaining barns to form three residential units, including landscaping, parking and access. The First Edition of the 1:25000 Ordnance Survey County map published in 1886 shows structures on the footprints of all the recorded buildings (designated A, B and C under the current proposals and subdivided into A1, A2, C1, C2 and C3 for the purposes of this report). A building attached to the south- east of one of the structures (B) is also shown on the First Edition map but is no longer present on the 1:25000 Ordnance Survey map of 1975. By then the modern sheds to the south of buildings C1 and east of C2, and to the south of Building B appear to be present. The survey identified four main phases of construction, dated to the 18 th , 19 th early 20 th and mid 20 th century. A threshing barn (B) and another possible barn (A1) were probably built during the early 18 th century. The latter may have adapted to a chaff house during the mid 19 th century, when a stable, a possible stable, a bakehouse supporting the farmhouse and a possible pigsty were also erected. Concrete rendering observed in some of the buildings was probably applied during the interwar period, when new hygiene regulations concerning cattle housing were put in place. The latest phase encompasses mechanisation of the farm in the second half of the 19 th century. This brought about the disuse of most of buildings included in the survey which are now used mostly for general storage.