BARROW UPON SOAR CONSERVATION AREA CHARACTER APPRAISAL INTRODUCTION 3 Planning policy context ASSESSMENT OF SPECIAL INTEREST 5 LOCATION AND SETTING HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 5 Origins and development Archaeological interest Population SPATIAL ANALYSIS 8 Plan form Townscape Key views, vistas and landmarks CHARACTER ANALYSIS 10 Building types, layouts and uses Key listed buildings and structures Key unlisted buildings Coherent groups Building materials and architectural details Parks, gardens and trees Biodiversity Detrimental features DEFINITION OF SPECIAL INTEREST 17 CONSERVATION AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN 18 General principles Procedures to ensure consistent decision-making Enforcement strategy Article 4 Direction General condition Review of the boundary Possible buildings for spot listing Enhancement Proposals for economic development and regeneration Management and protection of important trees, green spaces and biodiversity Monitoring change Consideration of resources Summary of issues and proposed actions Developing management proposals Community involvement Advice and guidance BIBLIOGRAPHY 23 LISTED BUILDINGS IN BARROW UPON SOAR 24 Barrow upon Soar Conservation Area Page 1 Character Appraisal – Adopted April 2008 BARROW UPON SOAR CONSERVATION AREA CHARACTER APPRAISAL This material has been reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital mapping with the permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Crown copyright. Licence No 100023558 Current map of Barrow upon Soar showing the Conservation Area Barrow upon Soar Conservation Area Page 2 Character Appraisal – Adopted April 2008 Introduction Barrow upon Soar Conservation Area was designated in January 1976. It covers an area of about 29.8 ha (71 acres). The boundaries of the Conservation Area generally define the extent of the settlement, as it existed at the end of the 19th century. The Area includes much of the medieval heart of the settlement, focussing on Holy Trinity Church which is Grade II* listed and its neighbouring almshouses and the principal roads through the village: High Street, North Street, Beveridge Street and South Street. The Conservation Area includes a large sweep of land to take in the stretch of the Grand Union Canal from Mill Lane to Barrow Deep Lock. The Area contains a broad range of residential and commercial development that is representative of the settlement from the medieval period through to the Victorian and Edwardian expansion of the village in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Area also contains residential development alongside the canal up to the present. The purpose of this appraisal is to examine the historical development of the Conservation Area and to describe its present appearance in order to assess its special architectural and historic interest. The appraisal is then used to inform the consideration of management and development proposals within the Area. This document sets out the planning policy context and how this appraisal relates to national, regional and local planning policies. The main part of the report focuses on the assessment of the special interest of the Conservation Area: • Location and setting describes how the Area relates to the historic settlement and surrounding area; • Historic development and archaeology sets out how architecture and archaeology are related to the social and economic growth of the village; • Spatial analysis describes the historic plan form of the settlement and how this has changed, the interrelationship of streets and spaces, and identifies key views and landmarks; • Character analysis identifies the uses, types and layouts of buildings, key listed and unlisted buildings, coherent groups of buildings, distinctive building materials and architectural details, significant green spaces and trees, and detrimental features. These elements are brought together in a summary of the special interest of the Conservation Area. An assessment of the general condition of the buildings and spaces within the Area is included. The main issues and proposed management actions are summarised. Recommendations for developing longer term management proposals for the area are suggested. Acknowledgment The Council thank Stephen Bradwell of Trigpoint Conservation and Planning for the major contribution he has made to the research and writing of this Appraisal. Planning Policy Context A conservation area is an area of special architectural or historic interest whose character or appearance should be preserved or enhanced. In making decisions on potential development within a conservation area, the Council is required to ‘pay attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of the area’. Permission will not be granted for proposals that are likely to harm the character or appearance of a conservation area. Sections 69 and 72 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. Planning Policy Guidance note 15: Planning and the Historic Environment says that special attention should be paid when considering proposals for development in a conservation area. The Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands published in March 2005 advises local authorities to develop strategies that avoid damage to the region’s cultural assets. Policy 27: Protecting and Enhancing The Region’s Natural and Cultural Assets. The Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan 1996 to 2016, published in December 2004, seeks to identify, protect, preserve and enhance areas, sites, buildings and settings of historic or architectural interest or archaeological importance. Development within conservation areas should preserve or enhance their character and appearance. Environment Policy 2: Sites and Buildings of Historic Architectural and Archaeological Interest. Barrow upon Soar Conservation Area Page 3 Character Appraisal – Adopted April 2008 The Council’s adopted Supplementary Planning Document ‘Leading in Design’ builds on the design policies set out in the Charnwood Local Plan and will contribute to the development of more effective approaches to securing good design in the emerging Local Development Framework. The guide is also intended to support the implementation of the community strategy, Charnwood Together, by providing a set of principles that will inform the physical development implicit in the initiatives and actions of all partners in the local strategic partnership. Barrow upon Soar Village Design Statement provides guidelines, established by local residents, for new development throughout the village. Adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance in January 2002. Other relevant SPG/SPD guidance includes: • Backland & Tandem Development. • House Extensions • Shopfronts & Signs Barrow upon Soar Conservation Area Page 4 Character Appraisal – Adopted April 2008 ASSESSMENT OF SPECIAL INTEREST Location and Setting Barrow upon Soar lies on the eastern side of the River Soar about 3 miles south-east of Loughborough. It is a thriving and large village, located away from the main trunk routes. The village occupies a sloping site above a natural cliff on the edge of the Soar valley. It is described in White’s 1846 Directory as ‘a large village pleasantly situated on the east side of the navigable River Soar’. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT Origins and Development The origins of Barrow are not clear. The first settlers may have been people using the ancient Celtic trackway known as the Great Salt Road of which Paudy Lane to Six Hills was certainly a part. In the mid 19th century there were some significant discoveries of Roman remains and a Roman cemetery adjacent to Sileby Road which indicate a Roman presence in the area. The village has the character of a nucleated settlement which is typical of the East Midlands. Such settlements were often situated on the slopes above a river valley so that they could take advantage of natural springs in the hillside, the meadowland which provided grazing in the floodplain and the drier arable fields on the wolds beyond the village. Thus the present village may have first developed as a Saxon settlement. The origin of the name Barrow is unclear; Nichols (1811) suggests that it is named because of its situation, being built on a little mount or rising ground after the Saxon word ‘Beoph’ signifying a mount or hill and this would support a Saxon origin for the village. It is also suggested that the name originated from the Old English, meaning an ancient burial tumulus or barrow. However the Domesday Survey of 1085-86 lists the settlement as ‘Barhoo’, but it has also been known as Barogh-on-Sore, Barow, Barewe-upon-Sore, Baro, and Barrough. Potter (1842) notes that at the time of the Battle of Hastings, the manor of Barrow was part of the Saxon King Harold’s estates and that after the Conquest it was passed by William the Conqueror to his nephew Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, who is recorded as the lord of the manor in the Domesday Survey. (Hugh Lupus was also responsible for building the castle at Mountsorrel). The manor afterwards passed to the Erdington family in 1346, and then in 1461 passed to Sir Richard Neale and then to Lord Wm. Hastings. It is likely that the oldest part of the settlement lay around the Church and there is evidence of a church on this site from the reign of King Stephen (1135 - 1154), although the present Church was substantially rebuilt by the Victorians. The chancel was rebuilt in 1865 and the nave and tower were rebuilt in 1870 following its collapse in 1868. The feudal village was at the centre of a large parish consisting of Barrow