Calcot Barn, Low Lane, Calcot, Reading, West Berkshire
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T H A M E S V A L L E Y AARCHAEOLOGICALRCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S Calcot Barn, Low Lane, Calcot, Reading, West Berkshire Building Recording by Danielle Milbank Site Code: CBC12/63 (SU 6761 7168) Calcot Barn, Low Lane, Calcot, Reading, West Berkshire Building Recording For Mr Nigel Thompson by Danielle Milbank Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code CBC 12/63 October 2012 Summary Site name: Calcot Barn, Low Lane, Calcot, Reading, West Berkshire Grid reference: SU 6761 7168 Site activity: Building Recording Date and duration of project: 19th June 2012 Project manager: Steve Ford Site code: CBC 12/63 Summary of results: The appraisal has shown that the building has undergone several phases of remodeling and extension since the construction of the barn in the late 17th or 18th century. Most significantly, the barn was converted into a dwelling, with rebuilding of the walls and a range of rooms added at the north in the 19th century, and a later (20th century) extension at its southern end. Several features of the barn have been retained and the roof structure is intact and in good condition. The proposed renovation will not substantially alter the building as it currently exists. Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Reading Museum in due course. A copy of the report will be lodged with the National Monuments Record. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford9 2.10.12 i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email [email protected]; website : www.tvas.co.uk Calcot Barn, Low Lane, Calcot, Reading, West Berkshire Building Recording by Danielle Milbank Report 12/63 Introduction This report documents the results of building recording at Calcot Barn, Low Lane, Calcot, Reading, West Berkshire (SU6761 7168) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Nigel Thompson, Calcot Barn, Low Lane, Reading, RG31 7RT. Planning permission (09/02614/FULMAJ) has been gained from West Berkshire District Council to convert the building into seven new residential units. The consent is subject to a condition (5) relating to archaeology. This is in accordance with and guided by Planning for the Historic Environment (PPS5 2010), and the Council’s planning policies. The building recording was carried out to a specification approved by Mr Duncan Coe, who advises the District Council on matters relating to Archaeology. The fieldwork was undertaken by Danielle Milbank on the 19th July 2012 and the site code is CBC 12/63. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and a copy of the report will be lodged with the National Monuments Record. Location, topography and geology The site is located at the south of Calcot, which lies at the southwestern margins of Reading, c. 4.5km south- west of the centre of Reading, but just within West Berkshire (Fig. 1). The site lies on the south side of Low Lane, with the entrance in the northwest. It is roughly square, with the house occupying the southwest of the plot as it is currently defined. The west elevation of the building forms the plot boundary, beyond which is a grassed area and residential plots, with further houses and gardens to the south, north and east. The site lies on fairly level ground at a height of approximately 60m above Ordnance Datum, and the underlying geology is mapped as Reading Beds (BGS 1946). Historical Background There is no record of Calcot or Calcot Row before the 18th century but it is thought that the placename has an origin similar to that of Caldecote. This is a combination of the Old English cald and cot, meaning cold or inhospitable cottage or travellers’ shelter (Mills 1998). 1 No mention is made of Calcot or Tilehurst, the parish in which it lies, in Domesday Book (Williams and Martin 1992) and it is likely that they had been subsumed in the entry for Reading. Tilehurst was owned by Reading Abbey until the Dissolution when, in 1525, it was transferred to Francis Englefield (VCH 1923). Tilehurst manor house was located at Calcot House, now the clubhouse of Calcot Park Golf Course. The area of the site is not shown on any of the early maps of the county. The first map to show the area is some detail is Rocque’s map of 1761 (Fig. 2), and although the depiction is more representative than literal in this area, the three farm buildings, including the barn at the east, are shown as simple rectangles. These buildings are similarly shown on Pride’s 1790 map (not illustrated) which may simply be a copy of Rocque in this area. The 1817 enclosure map (Fig. 3) shows the barn at the west of a cluster of three buildings which comprise Calcot Farm. Here, the cart entrances at the east and west are clearly shown, and there is a block at the north, probably the farmhouse, with an unusually-shaped building (shown as a rhombus) at the east. The initials ‘J.B.’ suggest that the farm and surrounding land were owned by John Blagrave, (1630-1704) a Member of Parliament for Reading and part of a prominent political family. The tithe map of 1844 (not illustrated) shows the barn modified, with structures added at the southwest and northeast. Some remodelling has also been carried out on the other farm buildings at the north and east, which have been enlarged. The First Edition Ordnance Survey of 1878 (Fig. 4) shows the shape of the original barn (a rectangular structure with projecting parts at the east and west for the cart way), with the addition of a small room on the east side, filling in the space to the north of the cart entrance. Subsequent editions (not illustrated) show the addition at the west of a small structure (outbuilding) and the construction of the north range by 1899, and the southern extension at the south east, built some time between the turn of the century and 1932. The later part of the 20th century saw little change in the overall footprint of the building, and its present layout is shown on the current plan of the site (Fig. 5). Methodology The building survey was carried out in accordance with guidelines set out by the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments (RCHME 1991) for a Level 2 building recording, with particular attention given to proposed changes to the existing fabric (EH 2006). At the time the building recording was carried out, the house was occupied by the tenants and owner, and the whole of the structure was accessible. 2 Description The building is a broadly L-shaped structure, with the long part on a south south west by north north east axis, and a shorter block at the south (Figs 6 and 7). For the purposes of the building recording, the building will be described as if aligned north-south. There is a drive and a car park at the north, which are both Tamacadamed and the garden (a lawn surrounded by beds and trees) with a paved area alongside the building at the east. At the north, the building comprises a one-storey range of rooms (the north range), with the two-storey former barn to the south (Plate 1). A range of rooms at the south extends from the east side of the main building, and is two storeys high (south extension). The north range has a plain red clay tiled gable roof with curved ridge tiles, which is slightly sagging between the bays. The tiles of the lower two thirds have cut corners and are hung to produce a pattern. The roof of the former barn is steep and half-hipped, and also has plain red clay tiles with curved ridge tiles. There are three modern skylight windows on the east side, three pairs and a single skylight on the west side of the roof of the former barn. The roof over the cart entrance at the east has been hung with a diamond-shape of the same corner-cut tiles as the north range roof. At the west, the cart entrance roof has a further pair of skylights. Several small areas of repair are visible, with modern replacements for older tiles, however the roof as a whole is probably of Victorian date, with the barn roof replaced when the northern range was added. The roof of the southern extension is a double-pitched gable roof, with a steep upper part and a shallower pitch at the east over a one-storey addition. North elevation (Fig. 8) At the west, the one storey north range elevation is built of sharp-edged bricks (230 x 70 x 118mm) laid to a stretcher bond, with occasional closers inserted to follow the shape of the gable end (Pl. 2). There is an exposed end truss comprising two principle rafters on side purlins, below which is the brick infill of the gable end. Here, the timbers rest on the brick course at the eaves and are machine cut. A timber lintel over a modern window (two side-hung casements either side of two fixed panes in a wooden frame) is also machine cut and appears, along with the window, to be a more recent insert. At the west, a brick pillar is keyed into the north elevation.