Brooklands Farmhouse, Brooklands Lane, Weybridge, Surrey A Standing Building Survey for Swan Hill Homes Ltd by Peter Reeves Wardell Armstrong for Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code BFW 02/109 Revised January 2004 Summary Site name: Brooklands Farmhouse, Brooklands Lane, Weybridge, Surrey Grid reference: TQ 067 636 Site activity: Building Recording Survey Date and duration of project: 14th February 2003; 11th November 2003 Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Peter Reeves Site code: BFW 02/109 Area of site: 162.5 sq m Summary of results: The building survey was very limited in its results due to fire damage and removal of dangerous parts of the structure and debris. The remains of the house were identified as 19th century with extensive construction from this period to the modern era. Monuments identified: 18th/19th century farmhouse Location and reference of archive: The site archive is currently held by Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Berkshire, RG1 5NR and will be deposited with the National Monuments Record in due course. 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 11.03.03 Steve Preston9 30.01.04 Brooklands Farmhouse, Brooklands Lane, Weybridge, Surrey A Standing Building Survey by Peter Reeves Report 02/109 Introduction Wardell Armstrong were commissioned by Thames Valley Archaeological Services to undertake a Level 2 standing building survey of the farmhouse located at the now redundant Brooklands Farm, near Weybridge in Surrey (TQ 067 636). The fire damaged Listed Building is due for demolition prior to development on the site (Listed Building Consent 2002/0961). Demolition is subject to a condition requiring a survey in order to comply with Section 18 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act of 1990, and in furtherance of policy HEN 17 of the Replacement Elmbridge Borough Local Plan (EBC 2000), to record the historically interesting components of the building. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr. Martin Higgins, Surrey County Council Historic Buildings Adviser. The fieldwork was undertaken by Peter Reeves of Wardell Armstrong and Jennifer Lowe of Thames Valley Archaeological Services on 14th February 2003 and the site code is BFW02/109. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with the National Monuments Record. Initial site survey revealed that the building had been severely damaged in the fire and that the subsequent removal of dangerous parts of the structure and the debris from the fire had left a floor plan where most of the walls were no higher than 1.5m and often considerably less. The highest surviving structural elevation was the chimney breast and stack at the southern end of the building, standing to 4m. Vigorous growth of vegetation was noted along the exposed wall tops. Large areas of surviving wall faces were covered with lichen and moss. Site description, location and geology The site is to the south of the River Thames and overlooks the River Wey to the west (Fig. 1). The farmhouse is located on low lying ground to the south-west of Brooklands College which in turn is located to the south-west of Weybridge town centre. St George’s Hill lies to the south-east. Nearby recently cleaned drainage ditches indicate that the building is sited on alluvial sand and gravel terraces of Quaternary date. 1 Archaeological and historical background Archaeological evidence is dominated by riverside finds and finds dredged up from the rivers. All prehistoric periods are represented with clusters of flints and metalwork. Mesolithic flint flakes have also been found to the south-east of the site. Iron Age occupation is recorded at the hillfort of St George’s Hill and further to the north- east. Weybridge is known from Domesday Book (1086) as Webruge although it has antecedents from AD675 when it was granted to Chertsey monastery by Frithwald of Surrey (VCH 1911, 476). The town did not develop significantly until the post-medieval period although the surrounding area is rich in agricultural land. The Brooklands estate was important from Tudor times; Henry VIII used it as a royal hunting ground. A survey of the Brooklands Estate in 1550 shows it to comprise 560 acres and a farmhouse. Since this time it has gradually decreased to the present size (Greenwood 1983). The present site was originally the focus of the estate but in 1767 a new house was constructed to the north-east. This was demolished soon after 1803. It is thought that the farmhouse was constructed in the 18th/19th century. General site observation hints that originally the house was constructed in the 18th century although little of this survives because much of the house had significant 19th and 20th century extension and alteration. The detailed site investigation shows an 18th century date for the phase 1 building. However, other than the chimney breast and the wall into which this is set, most of this phase has been removed by subsequent 19th and 20th century rebuilds and alterations. A race driving track was built on part of the estate in 1906 (Blackman and Pulford 1991). A search for further information from deeds to the property proved inconclusive. Cartographic evidence Maps of the site show little development since the 1844 Tithe map (Fig. 2) however by this date it is likely that the original building had been substantially altered, so little knowledge can be gained of the original structure from the historical maps. Brooklands Farmhouse is shown as an irregular shaped building with ancillary buildings to the north east, the rest of the site is open land. The First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1864 (Fig. 3) shows the site and buildings in more detail, with Brooklands Lane running from the north into the site and the farmhouse being surrounded by trees. Part of the farm site has also been incorporated into the grounds of Brooklands House to the north. The Ordnance Survey of 1867 (Fig 4) shows the area in clearer detail and the building is a square with a small extension to the south. There are no changes in 1873 (not illustrated) although by 1896, the Farmhouse is no longer surrounded by trees (Fig. 5) and the farm buildings to the north east have 2 developed substantially with a courtyard in the centre, with smaller ancillary buildings extended to the south- west. Little change is noted in maps dating from 1912 (Fig. 6), 1914 or 1934 (not illustrated) but by 1961 (Fig. 7) the Farm buildings have once again expanded considerably; although no change to the Listed Building itself is apparent. Methodology The standing building survey involved two methods of study and follows the approach defined by Brunskill (1990; 1992). These were: A descriptive text of the materials and methods of construction used in the building. The description was also to cover the chronological development of and alteration(s) to the building. A photographic record of the building covering each of the rooms and important features was undertaken. The photographic record utilizes colour slides, colour print and black and white print in 35mm format. A full catalogue is provided in Appendices 1 to 3. Further photographs of the building from prior to the fire and demolition have also been incorporated into the report. Measured elevations were also carried out where appropriate and are detailed in the full site archive. Aims and Objectives The aims of the survey were: To record the building prior to its complete demolition To describe the development of the building To highlight the most important historical elements of the building Results of the building survey The results are set out with reference to Figures 8–11. The surviving ground plan of the building is uncertain, there may have been a cross wing structure with the main range formed of rooms 2 and 3 and a cross wing consisting of room 1. Evidence for a cross wing on the house remains only in a small butted out area of wall on the east wall of the house, which is contemporary with the rest of the wall on this face. A small section of the roof on this wall may also be interpreted as showing evidence for a gable which could indicate a crosswing, however almost all of this has also been rebuilt and as it could not be observed in situ, it could not be ascertained if this was also original or a later rebuild. However 3 there is no evidence remaining to be observed of an L-shaped wing to the south-west as the walls have been substantially rebuilt. The original house may have had ether a simple rectangular plan or a cross wing; however the evidence available for this report cannot permit certainty. The building is constructed from brick, the older part bonded using lime mortar, the later additions bonded with cement. During the latest phase of alteration at the site all the original windows were replaced with modern double-glazed windows. None of the internal finishes had survived the fire, throughout the walls consisted of exposed brickwork or in places, coarse plaster finish. No internal wood structure remained and other than two fireplaces no interior adornment survived. The chronological development of the building is described in a later section of the report. During its history the building was extended and refurbished leading to the functions of the rooms changing. The final layout indicated that all the rooms on the ground floor were ‘living rooms’ with the kitchen located in the north- west corner.