Oxendale Hall, Osbaldeston, Lancashire

OXENDALE HALL, OSBALDESTON, LANCASHIRE

Heritage Impact Statement for Cruck Barn

2017

Oxendale Hall – Cruck Barn

Heritage Impact Statement

The Architectural History Practice Ltd

2017

CONTENTS

1.INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Report ...... 2 1.2 Purpose of the Report ...... 2 1.3. Location ...... 2 1.4. Copyright ...... 2 1.5 Acknowledgements ...... 2 2. HISTORY AND CONTEXT ...... 4 2.1 Historical background ...... 4 2.2 Historic form and phasing of the barn ...... 10 2.3. Later alterations to the barn ...... 20 2.4 Context: Cruck barns in Lancashire and the vernacular tradition...... 21 3. SIGNIFICANCE ...... 23 3.1 The concept of significance ...... 23 3.2. Significance of the Building and Site Designations ...... 24 3.3. The setting ...... 24 4. IMPACT ASSESSMENT ...... 27 4.1 Background ...... 27 4.2 Summary of the Proposals ...... 28 4.3 Impact of the changes ...... 31 5.0 CONCLUSION ...... 32 6.0 SOURCES ...... 34

Cover photo: Campbell Driver Partnership

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Report The report was commissioned from the Architectural History Practice by Ciara Naessens of Campbell Driver Partnership on behalf of Mr and Mrs Glassbrook, the owners of the building. Oxendale Hall Barn is a Grade II* listed building, and stands within the curtilage of Oxendale Hall which is also listed Grade II*. Research using published and unpublished sources was undertaken, and the site and buildings were assessed in May 2016. Pre- application discussions with Ribble Valley Borough Council and Historic England took place early in 2016, when the principle of some alterations to the barn was broadly supported, subject to details.

1.2 Purpose of the Report The report is designed to provide:

 A summary of the context, history and development of Oxendale Hall Barn  A statement of significance of the building  An assessment of the impact of proposals on the significance of the building and the setting.

The first two sections have been used to inform a scheme of proposals to refurbish the barn for a use ancillary to the domestic use of Oxendale Hall. The impact section has been written to support an application for listed building consent.

1.3. Location Oxendale Hall Barn is situated in Osbaldeston, a scattered rural area on the south side of the Ribble Valley, around 5 miles north-west of Blackburn. The address is Oxendale Hall, Osbaldeston Lane, Osbaldeston, Nr Blackburn, BB2 7LZ. The NGR is SD 65058 33401. The local planning authority is Ribble Valley Borough Council.

1.4. Copyright This report is the copyright of AHP Ltd and is for the sole use of the organisation to whom it is addressed. It may not be used or referred to in whole or in part by anyone else without the express agreement of AHP. AHP does not accept liability for any loss or damage arising from any unauthorised use of this report. ©AHP Ltd (2016)

1.5 Acknowledgements This report was prepared with assistance from Mr and Mrs Glassbrook and Ciara Naessens of Campbell Driver Partnership who supplied some of the photographs. The authors are Marion Barter BA MA, Director of the Architectural History Practice and Emma Neil, BSc MA (formerly of AHP). All photographs are by AHP unless otherwise stated. Extracts from historic maps

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are reproduced with the permission of Lancashire Archives and the owner/depositor to whom copyright is reserved. AHP is grateful for assistance from Peter Iles of the Lancashire Historic Environment Record.

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2. HISTORY AND CONTEXT

2.1 Historical background

Oxendale Hall is within the township of Osbaldeston, historically in the parish of Blackburn. Osbaldeston and Balderston were recorded as a manor held by a freeman in Domesday (1086), and from the 13th century, it was owned by the Osbaldeston family who built Osbaldeston Hall (Grade II*). The history of Oxendale Hall is associated with the Osbaldeston family; the freehold estate belonged to a junior branch of the family.

The Victoria County History, published in 1911, is the most reliable source for Lancashire history; this records that in 1508 William Osbaldeston held the Oxendale Hall estate and that by 1524 his son Robert was the owner. There would have been a house at Oxendale during their time. The Oxendale estate was inherited by Robert Osbaldeston’s oldest son Lawrence, who rebuilt the earlier Oxendale Hall in 1656-57. The datestone above the front doorway of Oxendale Hall is inscribed LRO 1656; LRO being the initials of Lawrence Osbaldeston and his wife Rosamund. The last Osbaldeston to inherit the estate was Lawrence’s son, also named Lawrence.

In 1714, the Oxendale estate was sold to William Fox of Goosnargh and his son John inherited the estate following his death. William Fox owned the estate in the 1760s (his initials are on a lead hopper on the hall), and it remained in his family until 1846. Oxendale Hall was tenanted to a succession of farming families recorded in the census returns; in 1841 the tenants were recorded as the Parker family, in 1851 the Crooks and in 1861 the Singleton family. In 1874 the estate was sold to Messrs. John, Edward and Joseph Dugdale of Blackburn for £5,139. At this time the estate consisted of 76 acres of land of which 17 acres were woodlands, Oxendale Hall was then occupied as a farmhouse, with barn, shippon, stable and outbuildings (Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 22 Sept 1874). The first three functions probably took place in the large barn, as the OS map for the 1890s only shows one large farm building.

The Oxendale estate remained in the ownership of the Dugdales until the death of Joseph Dugdale in 1924; it sold at auction in separate lots in 1926 (The Lancashire Daily Post, 24 Feb 1926). By 1927 the farm was owned by John Roland Hodgson who submitted proposals for a farmhand’s cottage to the rear of the barn that year. Oxendale Hall and dairy farm were for sale again in 1936; the farm buildings in the sale particulars were described as two shippons for 23 and 10 cows, stables and Dutch barns (Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligence, 7 Nov 1936). By then, the farmstead had expanded with new buildings (see map in Fig.6). At a date not established, the ownership of Oxendale Hall Farm (including the barn) was separated from Oxendale Hall. The last owner of Oxendale Hall Farm prior to acquisition by the present owners was the Chappell family. The hall was acquired by the present owners in 1995/6 and the farm buildings were subsequently purchased to reunite the property.

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The VCH, published in 1911 refers to the history of Osbaldeston and gives a brief description of Oxendale Hall, but does not mention the barn.

Comparison with other cruck-farmed barns in the region indicates that the barn was probably built in the sixteenth or early seventeenth century, although dendrochronology would be required to confirm the date for the cruck timbers. The barn probably pre-dates the existing mid-17th century house and would have been associated with the earlier 16th century hall.

There do not appear to be any detailed studies of the hall or barn, and the buildings are only briefly mentioned in The Buildings of England, Lancashire: North by Pevsner (Hartwell and Pevsner, 2011). The barn is listed in N.W. Alcock’s catalogue of cruck barns (1981). Historic images of the hall and barn have not been identified in any online image collections consulted for this study, including the online Lantern collection curated by Lancashire Archives. The only identified historic image is an air photograph of unknown date, probably 1960s, in the owners’ collection.

There is an absence of identified historic maps covering the area in sufficient detail to be useful until the 19th century. The only county map that identifies Oxendale Hall is Greenwood’s map of 1818 which seems to show the barn to the south-west of the hall, but the track to the hall is not marked and the building footprints are unlikely to be accurate at this small scale (Fig.1). The map clearly shows the large area of woodland bounding the east side of the estate. A tithe map is not available for this area.

Fig.1: Oxendale marked on Greenwood’s 1818 map of Lancashire

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The 1848 OS map is the first to accurately show the hall and barn, the only buildings on the site. The map shows additions to either end of the hall that have since been removed, and also additions to the north, west and south-east sides of the barn that are no longer extant. A yard on the north-east side of the barn connects to a drive or track on front of the hall, and a well is marked.

Fig.2: detail from 1848 OS map

The antiquity of Oxendale Hall is indicated by the use of gothic script for the place name.

The 1892 OS shows a slightly different layout to both buildings. By 1892, the end additions had been removed and a small rear extension had been built on the hall, probably part of the single-storey rear addition seen in the 1960s photograph. The barn is shown as a simple L-plan; the building is shown with a small projection on the north-east corner (the existing outshut). A small outbuilding is marked north of the house.

The map shows the site accessed by a track or drive from Osbaldeston Lane from the south-west, with a footpath running west-east through the farm and into Old Park Wood to the east. The landscape is divided into fields, with areas of woodland, including in the ravine north-east of the hall and in sunken areas north and south of the barn (these are indicated by hachures, and may be former quarries).

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Fig. 3: 1892 OS map (Lancashire Archives)

By the 1912 OS map, a linear building has been constructed parallel to the barn on its west wide; this is the single-storey range with wider south end that still exists (Fig.4). It was probably built as a shippon.

Fig.4: single-storey farm building built west of the barn, built 1892-1912 (photo - Campbell Driver)

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The only other outbuilding shown on the 1912 map is a small outbuilding north of the hall; this was probably a pig cote as the map shows it with a small yard divided into two on its south side, which is typical of domestic pig housing.

Fig. 5: 1912 OS map (Lancashire Archives)

Fig. 6: farm-hand’s cottage for Mr J R Hodgson, 1927, Reference: RDBL/3/6/2/823 (Lancashire Archives)

In 1927 approval was granted for a cottage for a farm worker, marked on an outline plan (Fig.6). This plan shows the proposed cottage west of the barn,

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although it was actually built further to the south. The 1932 OS map marks several new buildings that were not marked on the 1927 plan, indicating that these were built between 1927 and 1932. This farm expansion was presumably undertaken by John Roland Hodgson who was named on the proposals for a farm-hand’s cottage in 1927. The 1932 OS map, below, shows the changes made to the farm; to the south-west of the barn is a cottage for a farm-hand and new farm buildings had been added to the south and north-west. The barn and the range to its west are connected at their south end. To the north- west of the barn are two further buildings; one of these is open-fronted facing north and may be a cart-shed.

On the south side of the hall, a circular turning area had been laid out and the boundary of the garden adjusted to accommodate this. To the north the hall had by then been extended, probably with service buildings or outhouses.

Fig. 7: 1932 OS map (Lancashire Archives)

By the 1960s, the Oxendale Hall Farm had been further extended and is separately named on the 1968 OS map. The aerial photograph (Fig.8) taken around the same time, shows the buildings then on the site. Some of the buildings built in the 1920s have been removed and to the west of the 19th century linear range another shed has been built. The photo shows a row of high level of windows to the west elevation of the barn, a row of rooflights and a different eaves detail (since removed). There was a hard standing to the

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north-west of the farmstead and a yard area to the north and east of the barn. The cottage appears to have been extended to the north, since 1932.

Fig. 8: Aerial photographs, nd, approx. 1960s (client collection)

One of the last owners of Oxendale Hall Farm was Oliver Chappell, for whom approval was granted in 1989 by the local authority for the conversion of disused cow stalls and existing garage into horse stalls, recreation room and bathroom and garage. This may relate to the cruck barn or to the linear range west of the barn, but the drawings are not available to check. By the late 1980s, the farm was no longer operational. By the time the present owner was able to acquire the barn it was in poor condition.

2.2 Historic form and phasing of the barn The few historic maps and scant documentary material about Oxendale Hall make little contribution to an interpretation of the original form and date of the barn; instead it is necessary to rely upon the fabric of the barn itself, and comparison with other examples. To provide a full analysis of the barn, measured survey, archaeological investigation and dendrochronology would be required, which is beyond the scope of this study. Late 20th century repairs have obscured or altered parts of the structure.

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Fig.9: existing plan of the barn – north is roughly to the right (Campbell Driver Partnership)

The building currently consists of a 5-bay barn with a 2-bay stable (formerly with hayloft) to its south end and an 11 or 12-bay shippon to the west, under a catslide roof. There is a small lean-to addition to the north-west corner. The whole building is aligned roughly north-south with the main entrances into the barn and stables from the east. Each element is described separately below.

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Fig.10: cross section through barn from the south (Campbell Driver)

The barn The barn will have been used as an open storage and working space, for storing grain, hay and straw and with space for hand threshing, in the bay within the main east doors. The barn was probably built in the 16th or 17th century. The fabric indicates that the barn was originally built as a timber- framed structure supported on at least five trusses, the north four of which are full crucks and are extant. The bays are of unequal dimensions.

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Fig.11: remains of the timber-framed west wall with wall plate, main post, bracing and truncated west rail or brace from the west side

The four cruck trusses sit on padstones, which are in situ. Each truss had a collar which have been cut, perhaps to create an uninterrupted space. Spurs connect the cruck blades to the outer walls (Fig.14). The roof has two tiers of purlins and a ridge with some straight wind bracing, but all the rafters are recent. The structure of the east wall suggests that the lost timber-framed wall was built on a low rubblestone plinth with copings (extant); the timber-frame was replaced with brick, probably in the 18th century (see below). The timber- framing would have had wattle and daub panels between the timbers. Some of the timber-framed wall to the west wall has survived, with sections of wall plate, some main posts and braces; these provide valuable evidence for the original timber wall structure (Fig.11). There is no sign of the stone plinth to the wall on the west side of the main barn, and part of the structure is clad in later boarding hindering a full assessment.

The fifth truss to the south end of the barn does not have crucks but instead has jowled main posts, a tie-beam and king post (Fig.12), which may represent a later phase in the barn’s construction. This truss is ‘open’ which indicates that it did not form part of a solid wall. The mortice for a missing brace that connected to the wall plate of the timber-frame wall is visible on the north side of the main post, but the wall plate is missing. Mortices and flanges on the inner face of the main posts indicate the position of a former cross beam that may have supported a first floor loft in the south bay. The wall to the south is built of stone. This and the west and north wall were previously finished in lime wash.

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Fig.12: south truss and south bays in the barn

As the external timber-framed walls deteriorated due to weathering, the timber panels between the trusses were replaced with brick on the east elevation. The soft red bricks are hand-made and laid in English garden wall bond in lime mortar; the bricks and lozenge pattern breathers are typical of 18th century brickwork. The main barn doors fill the west side of the second bay from the north end, which is narrower than the bays either side. The doors were historically hung from the main posts of the timber-frame and the wall plate served as the lintel. The doors may have been renewed on several occasions; the existing doors match the earlier set of doors (Fig.13), with a small segmental-headed wicket door for farm workers in the north door.

The Welsh slate roof is probably a 19th or early 20th century replacement for an earlier stone roof. Stone slates have been retained on the north-east outshut.

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Fig.13: barn in the 1990s (photo - Campbell Driver)

Inside the barn, most of the evidence for the former timber-framing of the east wall has been lost due to historical rebuilding and repairs but mortice holes on the remaining trusses indicate where missing wall timbers were fixed. On the north gable end, the cruck truss (originally a ‘closed truss’) was retained and the whole of the gable wall was clad externally in rubblestone, at an unknown date but perhaps in the 18th century.

Fig.14: gable-end cruck on inner face of later stone north wall

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It is likely that the south gable end was originally also formed by a closed timber truss, but whether this was on the line of the existing outer south gable wall, or on the line of the wall that separates the south stable from the 5-bay barn is not known.

The secondary stone cladding to the north gable end of the barn appears to be of one phase, with no apparent straight joint in the wall between the barn and the shippon. This indicates that an aisled or lean-to shippon was in existence (or under construction) at the time the timber barn gable wall was clad in stone.

Fig.15: north gable end of the barn, with 19th century range to the right

Stable: The 2-bay south stable appears to be of one build, constructed in stone, and its overall form and roof structure indicate that it was probably built in the late 18th or 19th century as an addition to the barn. The stable has a partly stone setted floor and retains evidence for three stalls for horses facing west, with three small hatches in the west wall for hay to be tipped into hay racks (missing), from the feed passage in the shippon. The feed hatches have horizontal sliding shutters on their west side, and sloping concrete sills on the east side. The stable previously had a loft floor (Fig.15); joist holes remain in the walls. The shuttered opening high on the south gable wall was for pitching hay into the loft, and there are other blocked openings in the walls. The internal wall faces were previously lime-washed or plastered, with cement render to the lower part of the south wall.

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Fig.16. The stable in the 1990s (Campbell Driver)

Fig.17: stable in south two bays, from the north

The wide doorway into the east side of the stable appears to be an insertion, in place of an earlier stable door and suggests that the stable was adapted for use as a cart shed (at an unknown date).

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Fig.18: east elevation of stable (left)

The stonework of the shippon lean-to is later than the stable, as there are two large quoins to the right of the west door on the south wall that suggest this was the original south-west corner of the stable. The stable was probably built as an extension to the barn, and around the same time the former timber- framed south wall of the barn may have been rebuilt in stone to form an internal wall.

Shippon: The whole of the west side of the barn comprises a shippon, under a catslide roof; the wall between the shippon and the barn was initially timber- framed, and some of this survives, with wall plate, some main posts and braces (Fig.10). This timber-framed wall could have been built as the outer wall of the original barn, but there is little weathering to the west face of the timbers and little evidence of infill panels; this may indicate that this was an internal wall, meaning that the barn was built with an aisle on the west side. Aisles on barns of this type are unusual but not rare, and were often built to provide separate cow housing. The other possibility is that the timber framed wall marks the outer west elevation of the barn and that the whole of the lean- to shippon was a later addition.

The trusses of the shippon are pine and seem to be of roughly 19th century date, but they do not extend as far as the west wall (now supported on concrete block piers) (Fig. 18). This may suggest that the whole of the west wall was built further west to enlarge the shippon, at an unknown date, or that the short trusses were built on posts to form a western feed passage (the evidence for the historic arrangement has been lost). The west wall of the shippon is built of rubblestone and appears to be of similar date to the north and south gable ends, later lined with cement render as was usual in shippons in the mid 20th century. There are two doorways and five small windows or vents in the west wall (two blocked), a door at the north-west end and a door

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to the south gable, which served a full length western feed passage. The original arrangement of the shippon may have differed from the existing arrangement of a row of cow stalls facing east. The cowstalls have concrete partitions which probably date from the first half of the 20th century.

Fig.19: short trusses on concrete block piers in the shippon

North-west outrigger: A small stone lean-to is built against the north end of the east wall. It is marked on the 1892 OS map and may be an addition of the 18th or 19th century, for a stable, or small cow house. 1990s photographs show it previously had a stable door, but there are no other fittings to indicate its original function. The wall between this and the barn is partly rubblestone, with timber boarding to the upper part and one doorway. The roof rafters are recent, and lime wash and plaster has been removed from the walls. The floor is brick.

Fig.20: inside the north-east lean-to addition

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2.3. Later alterations to the barn

Aside from the gradual re-cladding of the cruck barn in brick or stone, and the building or rebuilding of the south stable, north-east lean-to and the west shippon, changes were made to the building in the 20th century.

The shippon was modernised in the early to mid 20th century when the concrete stall dividers and steel fittings were installed. This may have coincided with investment in the expansion of the farm in the 1920s, after it changed hands. The stalls are arranged to face east onto a feeding passage; access for cows was along the west where there is a drain in the concrete floor. The inner face of the outer wall was part lined in concrete around the same time. The work was probably required to comply with 1930s Ministry of Agriculture hygiene standards for milking parlours. The rows of small windows at eaves level and the corrugated roof section seen in the aerial photo (Fig.8) may have been installed at the same time. The list entry describes a lean-to extension with corrugated iron roof between the two doorways on the east wall; this was removed in the late 1980s or 1990s.

The whole of the west wall of the barn has been fitted with light weight timber boarding on the east face of the inner wall; the upper part of the pine boarding seems to be late 19th or early 20th century with more recent boarding to the lower part. All the roof rafters are modern replacements.

Fig.21: concrete stalls in the shippon, installed in the early 20th century

The last phase of work to the barn took place in the 1990s when doors and openings were fitted with new joinery, masonry repairs were undertaken and the slate roof was re-laid on new rafters. On the west wall of the shippon, 20th century shippon windows were removed and the eaves were re-roofed in slate. The crucks and roof timbers were cleaned internally and lime wash and plaster was removed from the masonry walls. Some masonry was repaired,

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including the east side of the north-east lean-to and the door jamb of the south-west shippon door. The stone floor (not insulated) in the barn, overlies the earth floor. Outside, stone setts, cobbles and stone paving was re-laid around the barn as part of new hard landscaping.

2.4 Context: Cruck barns in Lancashire and the vernacular tradition.

During the 15th and 16th centuries agricultural buildings built for yeoman or gentry farms usually included a large barn to store arable crops and hay. These barns were smaller in the north and west than the south, where very large grain barns were built in the most productive arable areas such as Essex. In the north, mixed farming on poorer land resulted in multi-purpose barns, also known as combination buildings, where cows were often accommodated within part of the barn, rather than in a separate building. In Lancashire and Yorkshire, shippons for cows were often built in a side aisle to a barn, under a catslide roof. The internal structures of the barns varied; some of the largest barns in the Pennines built in the 16th century were aisled, with tall, straight main posts as at Gawthorpe Hall Barn, Wycoller Barn and Hurstwood Great Barn (all in Lancashire). During the same period, barns in Lancashire were also built using cruck construction (see below).

Cruck construction, where a curved tree trunk was cut longitudinally to provide two matching curved timbers for each principal truss, is found particularly in the North of England, the West Midlands, and the Welsh borders but is absent from parts of the south such as East Anglia. The distribution of buildings built with cruck trusses was mapped and the different cruck types classified by archaeologist N.W. Alcock in 1981. Crucks were in use for domestic and farm buildings over a long period – from the 14th century into the early 18th century, making it hard to firmly date buildings without scientific dating (dendrochronology). The cruck blades were mounted on padstones, to raise them off the damp ground. Timber cross beams or spurs extended to the wall plate of the outer walls, to firmly connect each cruck truss to the timber-frame of the outer walls, and at a higher level collars were extended to carry the roof purlins.

The use of crucks generally declined in favour of box framing, which was the norm by the late 16th century for houses in timber-framed areas such as Cheshire, but crucks continued to be used for farm buildings and for low status cottages after this. A cruck barn at Penistone in the South Yorkshire Pennines is dated as late as 1759 (Lake, p93).

The external cladding material used for cruck buildings varies across Northern England, but timber-framing seems to have been the usual material for outer walls in south and east Lancashire, Cheshire and parts of the Yorkshire. The timber-framed walls were usually built on low stone plinths. Completely stone walled cruck barns were more usual in Cumbria and parts of the Pennines, while clay walls were used in west Lancashire and north-west Cumbria. Cruck

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barns first built with timber-framed outer walls were often later encased in stone or brick, as the original timber-framed wall deteriorated, making cruck barns hard to identify from outside. Oxendale Hall barn is typical of barns where the outer walls were rebuilt in sandstone rubble or brick to replace the timber frame, evidence for which survives on the internal west wall and in the north cruck truss.

Other Grade II* listed cruck barns in Lancashire include Hacking Barn in the parish of Billington and Langho. This cruck barn dates to c1600 and has walls of sandstone rubble and modern timber boarding, replacing the original timber framing. Internally, there are six cruck trusses. The barn is associated with Hacking Hall built in 1607 by Sir Thomas Walmsley. On the north side of the Ribble valley at Stonyhust is Hall Barns Farm (also Grade II*). This barn formerly had timber-framed walls and now has 18th century stone outer walls concealing five cruck-trusses which probably date from the 16th century. The large 7-bay cruck barn at Rivington near Bolton is now clad in stone, and probably dates from the late 16th century; it was originally associated with a timber-framed 16th century hall, which like Stonyhurst was rebuilt over time in stone. There is a lack of firm dating and detailed research into cruck barns in the Ribble Valley and north and east Lancashire, which makes it difficult to fully interpret and understand their dating, construction and past function. However, these barns are often associated with important yeoman or gentry houses and may have been an expression of social status. An unknown number of cruck barns have been demolished over time as they fell into disrepair; the surviving barns are particularly important remnants of a specific type of construction and historic farm function.

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3.0 SIGNIFICANCE

3.1 The concept of significance Assessing significance is a key principle for managing change to heritage assets, and is embedded within current government policy. The NPPF (CLG, National Planning Policy Framework, 2012) requires applicants to describe the significance of heritage assets affected by proposals (paragraph 128). A key objective in the NPPF is ‘the desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets and putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation …’ (NPPF paragraph 126). The NPPF advises that the more significant a heritage asset the greater the presumption in favour of its conservation, and this principle of proportionality makes it important to understand how significance may vary within an asset (policy 132). Not all parts of a listed building are of equal significance, and there are often opportunities to enhance the significance of a heritage asset by removing elements that have a negative impact, or that are less significant.

Historic England issued Conservation Principles in 2008 to explain its philosophical approach to significance and managing change and identified four main aspects of significance: evidential (or archaeological), historical, aesthetic and communal. Within these categories, significance can be measured according to hierarchical levels:

 Highest – an asset important at national to international levels, including scheduled ancient monuments, Grade I and II* listed buildings and World Heritage Sites. The NPPF advises that substantial harm should be wholly exceptional.  High – a designated asset important at a regional level and also at a national level, including Grade II listed buildings and conservation areas. The NPPF advises that substantial harm should be exceptional.  Medium – an undesignated asset important at a local to regional level, including local (non-statutory) listed buildings or those that make a positive contribution to the setting of a listed building or to a conservation area. May include less significant parts of listed buildings. Buildings and parts of structures in this category should be retained where possible, although there is usually scope for adaptation.  Low – structure or feature of very limited heritage or other cultural value and not defined as a heritage asset. May include insignificant interventions to listed buildings, and buildings that do not contribute positively to a conservation area. The removal or adaptation of structures in this category is usually acceptable where the work will enhance a related heritage asset.  Neutral without strong positive or negative significance  Negative – structure or feature that harms the value of a heritage asset. Wherever practicable, removal of negative features should be

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considered, taking account of setting and opportunities for enhancement.

3.2. Significance of the Building and Site Designations

Oxendale Hall Barn was listed grade II* in 1986. The description is in Appendix 1. It is recorded on the Lancashire Historic Environment Record (HER): PRN 18014 MLA 17976.

The barn is of the highest significance for its evidential and historic value as a good example of a cruck barn in Lancashire, probably dating from the 16th or 17th century and partly rebuilt, extended and clad in brick in the 18th century. Its association with Oxendale Hall, also Grade II* enhances its significance.

All the original or early fabric of the barn is of exceptional significance, including the cruck trusses and evidence for timber-framing of the north and west walls. The rebuilding of the external east wall in brick and stone is part of the history of the building and has high significance. The shippon to the west and north-east addition are of unknown dates, but have high significance as part of the evolution of the barn and the context of regional farming history. The pattern of window openings are part of the later phase associated with the cladding in brick; these openings have medium to high significance but all the joinery is modern and of no historic value. The modern stone floor has no heritage value.

The structure is of exceptional significance for archaeological and evidential value as the fabric (historic timber structure) retains evidence of primary phase timber construction and early phases of alterations. Historical significance is also high, as evidence for the local vernacular tradition and development of historic farm buildings in the region. The barn has high aesthetic value for the vernacular character of the building exterior, the spatial character of the interior and the dramatic cruck trusses. It contributes to the setting of the hall.

3.3. The setting

Setting is defined in the NPPF as ‘the surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced’. Setting is among the factors that have to be taken into account by local authorities when development affecting listed buildings is proposed; setting is protected under the 1990 Planning Act.

The 1892 OS map shows Osbaldeston as a largely rural area with Old Park Wood to the west, Osbaldeston Hall to the north close to the River Ribble, and smaller farmsteads to the south-west including Little Oxendale and Turner’s Farm. The landscape around Oxendale Hall Barn retains a tranquil rural character, overlain by recent formal landscaping.

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Oxendale Hall is separated from the barn by a rebuilt stone wall and screened by clipped yew hedges enclosing the turning circle to the south of the hall and by trees along the west side of the principal hall drive.

Fig.22: south gable end of the barn with Oxendale Hall to right

Oxendale Hall Barn has an altered setting; the farm ceased to operate in the late 20th century and since then the barn has functioned as a building ancillary to the domestic use of the hall. The pattern of historic field boundaries has been altered by landscaping and recent buildings to the west have replaced 1920s farm buildings, creating a more domestic setting. There is one other historic farm building immediately to the west, a 19th century stone-built former shippon, recently refurbished. In the twentieth century the wooded former quarry north of the barn was infilled and in the 1990s a tennis court was laid out. In recent years the landscape setting surrounding the barn was upgraded, and surrounding buildings converted to new purposes. Following the acquisition of the farm cottage by the present owner, it has been adapted for staff accommodation and an office. The immediate surroundings are now paved in re-laid cobbles, setts and paving. The former farm can be accessed via two routes; the drive from Osbaldeston Lane to the south-west, along the line of the historic approach (separate from Oxendale Hall entrance), or from the turning circle in front of the Oxendale Hall served by a new drive from the south.

There are good views of the barn on the drive that leads to it from the south- west, and from the front of the hall, from the north-east.

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Fig.23: the south and west elevations of Oxendale Hall from near the barn

Oxendale Hall is an essential part of the barn’s historic setting. The south front of Oxendale Hall can be seen from the barn to the north-west (Figs.21 and 22). The modern landscape setting makes a neutral contribution to the significance of the barn; while some of the historic character of the original farm setting has been reduced by this landscaping and the loss of a farming landscape, overall the setting contributes positively to the significance of the barn.

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4.0 IMPACT ASSESSMENT

4.1 Background

The purpose of this section is assess the impact of the current proposals on the significance of Oxendale Hall Barn, to assist the local authority and Historic England in determining the application.

The NPPF expects the local authority to ‘identify and assess the particular significance of heritage assets’, and ‘take account of available evidence and necessary expertise’. This report provides a proportionate level of significance assessment for this case, to enable the local authority and Historic England to assess the impact of proposals ‘on a heritage asset, to avoid or minimise the conflict between the heritage asset’s conservation and any aspect of the proposal’ (paragraph 129).

Great weight should be given to the conservation of designated heritage assets of national importance such as listed buildings, when considering the impact of proposed development (paragraph 132). The more important the asset the greater the weight should be. Oxendale Hall Barn is Grade II*, and is therefore within the top 10% of all listed buildings in England. Decisions on proposals affecting the setting of Grade I and II* listed buildings are the subject of statutory consultation with Historic England.

Proposals may enhance, have a neutral impact or cause harm to a heritage asset. Harm should be always avoided, and if a level of harm that is ‘less than substantial’ is likely to be caused, the local authority has to balance this against the public benefits of the proposal (para.134).

The barn has not been in farming use since the 1980s, and to ensure it has a long-term future it will need a viable use. The NPPF emphasises

‘the desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets and putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation’ (paragraph 131).

In line with this principle, the owners wish to adapt the listed barn for a use that complements the domestic use of their home, Oxendale Hall. Without a beneficial use to support its upkeep, the listed barn may become vulnerable and at risk of decay and decline. The best use for the barn is one which retains the large uninterrupted interior so that the cruck timbers and the internal volume of the barn can be appreciated.

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4.2 Summary of the Proposals

This report should be read in conjunction with the plans and Design and Access Statement prepared by Campbell Driver.

The proposal is to refurbish the barn as an entertainment space, ancillary to the house, Oxendale Hall. The stable towards the south end will be adapted as an entrance area, with a new opening in the wall that separates the stable from the barn to the north. Service functions will be located in less significant parts of the building to reduce the impact on the most important space within the barn. The former cow shippon on the west side of the barn will be adapted for services with WCs formed within the structural bays of the roof and a kitchen and plant area at the south end. The lean-to outshut at the north-east corner of the barn will be adapted as a wine and general storage area. Each of these areas are discussed in turn, below.

The Stables

The former stable is contained within a stone-built 2-bay addition at the south end of the barn, probably dating from the late eighteenth or nineteenth century. It has lower heritage significance than the main barn. The key features of significance are the masonry walls, the roof structure, the stone floor with evidence of stalls and positions of historic openings, all of which will be retained.

The key change is a proposed new opening in an internal wall, to enable a direct connection between the barn and the stable entrance area. The doorway will be hung with a sliding glass door on an exposed stainless steel rail. New lighting will be installed.

The external double doors into the barn will be retained on the outside of the opening, with new inner glazed doors. Existing external doors and the shutter to the former loft opening in the south gable will be retained. A row of small rectangular openings in the west wall, related to former hay racks, will be retained, with the sliding timber shutters, closed. The holes in the walls relating to joist positions for the missing loft floor will remain visible, as evidence for the previous interior.

The walls will remain fair-faced stone. The uneven stone floor will be retained underneath an inserted timber floor. This will avoid the loss of the archaeology of the floor, and will slightly raise the level of the stable floor, which is already above the barn floor level. To overcome the level change, three timber steps will be constructed between the stable and barn, in the new opening.

The roof will be insulated by adding a layer of insulation and sarking above the rafters, which will remain visible, along with the purlins and truss. The roof covering will be raised by 150-160mm, requiring an additional course of

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matching brick to be laid on top of the existing east wall below the eaves and additional stone build-up to the south gable verges.

The Barn

The existing open volume and character of the 5-bay barn will be retained and no sub-divisions will be made within this space. The barn will be used for entertaining with loose furnishings arranged for a flexible layout. The existing space is unheated and has no insulation, limiting the winter use of the building. In response to this, the key alteration is to install under-floor heating beneath the relatively recent stone flag floor and to add insulation to the roof. The external double doors into the barn will be retained in situ, with new inner glazed doors, to improve insulation.

The modern stone flags will be lifted and a concrete slab with dpm and a heated screed will be laid, before reinstating the stone floor. The total depth of the below-floor construction will around 275mm; this will entail some excavation of the below-ground floor.

The roof will be insulated by adding timber sarking boards above the rafters with a layer of insulation boards and vapour permeable membrane above this. This will result in the roof slates being approximately 150-160mm higher than present; the existing Welsh slates and stone slates will be reinstated. This will require an additional course of matching brick or stone to be laid on top of the existing east and west walls, respectively, at the eaves, and to north gable verges.

The inside face of the walls will remain as they are, with fair-faced stone to the north and south, brick and stone to east and west walls, and timber boarding to the west. A modern timber door leading to the kitchen area will be amended.

Existing lighting will be retained. A wood-burning stove will be installed, with a twin-wall metal flue routed via the west slope of the barn roof.

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Fig.24. proposed section showing position of stove and flue pipe and proposed WC in shippon (Campbell Driver)

Shippon

In the shippon, the inner face of the south and part of the west wall will be dry-lined for insulation, but the north area (storage use) will be left fair-faced. Within the storage area, the west face of the timber-boarded partition between the barn and shippon will be lined with insulation and over-boarded. The same roof insulation detail will be used for the roof over this area as for the main barn. The key function of this area will be to provide ancillary services; a heating and hot water boiler will be installed in a plant room at the south end, next to the kitchen. Four WCs will be installed, each within a roof bay; with concrete block partitions built on one side of the trusses. The blockwork will have a plaster finish to the ‘public’ face, but left fair-faced on the outer face. The partitions for each WC will be taken up to the roof soffit so the roof structure will be exposed. A new drain to the west of the shippon will take waste from the WCs and kitchen, leading to an existing septic tank. New lighting and an electrical circuit will be installed to serve this area.

The floor comprises a mixture of brick, stone and concrete at different levels; to provide a level practical floor it is proposed to level the floor and lay a new floor with ceramic tiles for the WCs and kitchen. In other areas, the existing floor surfaces will be retained as they are.

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North-east store

Minor changes will be made here to enable its use as a store, with new electrical services and flooring. Walls remain fair-faced and the roof will be insulated, as other areas.

4.3 Impact of the changes

The proposed changes will have some impact on the character of parts of the listed building, but the changes in the most significant part - the former timber-framed cruck barn - will be minimised by locating services in ancillary, less significant areas.

In the barn, the works to insulate below the stone flag floor surface may have some archaeological impact, depending on the survival level of undisturbed stratigraphy. In mitigation, an appropriate level of archaeological investigation and recording will be arranged for the barn’s floor. The floor works will not alter the existing visual appearance of the floor, which is relatively modern.

The work to insulate the roof will have a visual impact on the barn as a whole, by lifting the roof covering and raising the height of the outer walls by 150-160 mm. The raising of the roof is not a particular issue; historically the roof will probably have been thatched and the thickness of the thatch will have resulted in a higher profile than the existing Welsh slate roof which is relatively modern. Raising the masonry of the outer walls will have a more significant impact, both visually and physically, altering the appearance of the walls and affecting the integrity of the structure. This work will be specified and executed with care, using lime-based mortar and carefully selected masonry. To ensure that no evidence for the primary timber-frame, such as the wall plate or other timber is disturbed, the archaeology of the building will be carefully recorded prior to and during the work. This is particularly important as this historic barn has not previously been subject to any measured recording.

The new opening between the barn and stable will affect a masonry wall that is probably of the same date as the later stable, rather than the barn (late eighteenth or nineteenth century). This opening affects a plain rubblestone wall that has no features; it is considered to be acceptable. The new floor to the stable will overlie the existing historic floor preserving the evidence for the stable floor; the character of the space will be slightly altered by the new timber floor but this is justified to facilitate the new use. Retaining the fair- faced walls and other features will preserve the character of this area and evidence of its historic function.

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The proposed inner glazed doors will enable the existing outer doors to remain, but with improved levels of heat retention for the interior; this is a well-established approach to barn conversions and is acceptable.

In the cow shippon, the proposals affect the floor, the walls, the roof and some cow stalls. Four new WCs will entail removing the existing brick and stone floors, the stall partitions and fittings and installing new concrete block partitions and fittings. As four bays to the north end will remain unaltered, examples of the fittings and finishes will remain in situ. The cow shippon is a much altered area and its significance is at a medium level, compared to the exceptional significance of the main barn. The impact of the proposals on this area is consequently considered to be low, and the benefits of achieving a new use alongside retaining historic fabric outweighs the slight harm caused to this area. In mitigation, an appropriate level of archaeological recording of affected floors, features and walls will be arranged.

New modern low profile roof lights are proposed to light the shippon, which will have a low impact on this elevation, which is less sensitive due to previous alteration and its aspect facing away from the hall, than the more sensitive east elevation and roof pitch.

5.0 CONCLUSION

Oxendale Hall Barn is a good example of the crucks barns built in the north of England in the post-medieval period. The date of initial construction is not known, but it was probably built in the late 16th or early 17th century, perhaps before the present Oxendale Hall was rebuilt (1656). There is potential for accurate dating using dendrochronology as part of archaeological recording prior to the proposed works being carried out, which has proved informative for other barns in the North West. The barn retains four cruck trusses and evidence that it originally had timber-framed external walls (indicated by the west wall and the north wall). The most significant aspects of the building are these structural timbers and the barn’s spatial character, which have exceptional significance. The later brick and stone walls, the former stable in the south end and shippon to the west have high significance overall, but the interior of the shippon and its more recent fittings and structural alteration has low significance.

The barn has not been in farming use since the 1980s. This scheme to refurbish the barn for entertainment use ancillary to Oxendale Hall provides an opportunity to secure a long-term sustainable future for the barn. The use proposed will have far less impact than a residential scheme, for example, and is considered to be an appropriate use. To facilitate this use, some changes are proposed but the alterations to the main part of the barn have been minimised and this impressive space will remain un-divided. The interventions include new insulation to floors and roof, new services in the former shippon and

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stable, a new stove on the west side of the barn and a new doorway between the stable and barn. Overall, the proposals will preserve the listed building; the harm caused is slight, and outweighed by the benefits of securing a long- term use for this Grade II* barn.

In mitigation for the loss of some historic fabric and the intervention to the floors and walls, archaeological recording will be arranged before the works take place.

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6.0 SOURCES

Select bibliography

Abram, W.A., History of Blackburn, town and parish, 1877

Alcock, N.W., Cruck construction, an introduction and catalogue, 1982, CBA research report no 42

Chapman, M., Lancashire Halls, 1990

Farrer, William and Brownbill, J, eds. Victoria County History Lancashire, Vol.6, 1911

Harris, R, Discovering Timber-framed Buildings, 1978

Historic England, Converting Historic Farm Buildings, a guide to good practice, 2006

Hartwell, C, and Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England Lancashire: North, 2011

Lake, J, Historic Farm Buildings, 1989

Maps

OS 1848, 1: 10560 (surveyed 1844-47)

OS 1892, Lancashire Sheet LXII.2, 1:1250 (surveyed 1892, published 1893)

OS 1912, Lancashire Sheet LXII.2, 1:1250 (revised 1910)

OS 1932, Lancashire Sheet LXII.2, 1:1250 (revised 1930)

OS 1956, Sheet SD 63 SE, 1:10,560

OS 1968