Building record 6560/2 - Castle Hill Farm Barn, Castle Hill

<1> Vale Royal Borough Council, 2006, Vale Royal Borough Council's List of Locally Important Buildings (Report). SCH5487.

<2> Vale Royal Borough Council, 1977-79, The Vale Royal Borough Council Historic Buildings Survey Index Card, KIN/HB 8A (Paper Archive). SCH5481.

CRITERION E: BUILDINGS INCLUDED IN THE VALE ROYAL BOROUGH COUNCIL HISTORIC BUILDINGS SURVEY 1977 - 79.

<3> Peter de Figueiredo (Independent Consultant), 2017, Castle Hill Farm Barn, Waterloo Lane, Kinglsey, Cheshire: Heritage Statement, R4567 (Client Report). SCH9166.

A heritage statement was produced in 2017 for Castle Hill Farm Barn. The barn sits to the north of Castle Hill Farmhouse (CHER 6560/1), which is Grade II Listed, in the small rural settlement of Newton within the parish of Kingsley.

Newton was historically a township within the parish of Frodsham. In 1866 Kingsley was formed as a separate parish, which included Newton. In the 18th century it was an isolated farming settlement, reached only by rough roads. Most inhabitants had a small holding and kept a few animals. Much of the land in Newton was owned by the Smith-Barry family of Marbury Hall near Northwich and Fota Island, County Cork. This included Castle Hill Farm, which was sold by Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry to George Beckett, who had probably had an interest in the property for some years, since his name is recorded in the tithe apportionments of 1845. Following his death the property was sold to Arthur Clarke in 1894, and then to Samuel Moss in 1943. It appears from directories that the farm was tenanted throughout the 19th century.

The farm is not marked on Burdett’s map of 1777, but it does appear in the form of two dots on Greenwood’s map of 1819 in the position of the existing farmhouse and barn. The tithe map of 1845 shows the house and two farm buildings to the rear, one behind the other. The 1873 OS map provides a more accurate depiction, showing the house in its current plan form, with the barn and a number of small outbuildings.

The barn may possibly predate the farmhouse and, although it is difficult to date precisely, it is likely to have been built in the 18th century. It appears originally to have been a single storey structure, and was later increased in height. It was also extended at the north end. The ground floor walls of the original building are of large sandstone blocks, with four original door openings on the east façade. The upper floor is built of brick of a similar type to the rear and side elevations of the house, and is laid in Garden Wall bond. On the west elevation is a stone lean-to extension, which is constructed from stone blocks possibly reclaimed from the original single storey barn when it was altered and increased in height.

The barn was almost certainly built originally as a shippon or cattle barn, and shows no sign of having been used for threshing. Most surviving cattle barns date from the 19th century, partly because of the great increase in the number of cattle kept, but also because of greater appreciation of the benefits of good husbandry. Until the 19th century, it was common to keep cattle in the open over winter, but with understanding that shelter and improved facilities produced greater yields, new buildings were erected and older ones were replaced. Few earlier cowhouses now survive in anything like their original condition.

When built, the shippon would have had few windows. Light and ventilation were considered detrimental to the housing of cattle until the mid 19th century. The absence of any windows in the east elevation is evidence of this practice, and it is notable that the only windows in the barn are those inserted within the brick additions. The four door openings in the east façade of the original stone barn would have been used to herd the cattle into and out of the farmyard. There is also an original blocked doorway in the west façade which would probably have served to remove the manure to the midden and for its onward transportation to the fields.