historic building recording at Barnston

Yesterday (5th April), the Trust undertook the site work for a historic building recording project at Mud Wall Farm at Barnston in Essex, to a brief issued by Essex County Council. The recording was required in advance of the conversion of the buildings of the former farm complex to residential accommodation.

The farm buildings at Mud Wall Farm form part of a locally significant post-medieval farm complex which is thought to date from the 19th century.  One element of the complex dates to the early part of the 20th century, while the other elements pre-date 1877.  The farmhouse dates from the 14th-15th century and is Grade II listed. In Research and Archaeology: a framework for the Eastern Counties 2. Research agenda and strategy (East Anglian Archaeology, occasional paper 8, Brown & Glazebrook 2000), the ‘East Anglian farmstead’ of 1750-1914 is described as being  a crucial component of the East Anglian landscape. The farmstead buildings are considered to be of major importance in relation to the development of the ‘Victorian High Farming tradition’.  Thus the farm buildings at Barnston are being ‘preserved by record’, by historic building recording and archaeological survey.

Today, the site work consisted of surveying and a full photographic record of the buildings, which was undertaken by Trust archaeologist Chris Lister.

The image shows four of the buildings of the farm complex.

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