Monument record 7051 - Frog Hall Farm

Burdett's 1777 map of Cheshire (1) shows a number of buildings which approximate to Frog Hall Farm. It was originally constructed by a member of the Larden family (2), so it is possible that this is the buildings shown. John Larden is recorded as the owner and William Stones as the occupier in the 1838 Tithe award (3) for the township. It is labelled as Frog Moor Lodge on Bryant's 1831 map of Cheshire (4). John Larden died in 1844 leaving no know heirs (1). The next reference to Frog Hall farm comes from Morris and Co.’s Directory of 1874 (5), which lists a George Mosford as farmer at Frog Lane (presumably Frog Hall Farm). George Mosford is also listed as Farmer at Frog Lane in Kelly’s Directory of 1892 and an Alice Mosford (Mrs) as Farmer at Frog Lane in Kelly’s Directory of 1939 (6). It is said that the original Frog Hall was demolished around 1960 and replaced with the current farmhouse. The only pre-20th Century building to survive is a two storey range immediately to the north east of the modern farmhouse (7).

Unstratified ceramic finds found in the vicinty of the farm suggest that dairying is taking place on the farm (8).

Bryant, A., 1831, Map of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH2114.

<1> Burdett, P. P., 1777, A Survey of the County Palatine of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH113.

<2> Latham F.A. (ed), 1977, Tattenhall. The History of a Cheshire Village, p.31 & 81 (Book). SCH6839.

<3> See map for surveyor, c.1837-51, Cheshire Tithe Maps and Awards, EDT 386/1&2 (Maps and Plans). SCH3266.

<5> Morris and Co, Various, Morris and Co.'s Directory and Gazetteer of Cheshire, 1874 (Book). SCH6840.

<6> Kelly's Directories Ltd, Various, Kelly's Directory of Cheshire, 1939 (Book). SCH6841.

<7> Gifford and Partners, 2010, Frog Hall Farm, Tattenhall: Archaeological Desk Based Assessment, p.4 & 5 (Client Report). SCH5372.

<8> Northamptonshire Arcaheology, 2010, Archaeological Evaluation at Frog Hall Farm, Tattenhall, Cheshire, p.10 (Client Report). SCH5409.

<9> L - P Archaeology, 2015, Frog Hall Farm, Tattenhall: Archaeological Strip and Map Report (Client Report). SCH7847.

In April/May 2015 an archaeological evaluation was undertaken at Frog Hall Farm, Tattenhall, Chester prior to development of the site. This involved a mechanical strip and map of a 25 x 25m squared area on the footprint of the original farmhouse with a focus on investigating the origins of the farmhouse.

The earliest phase of activity, dating from the mid-late 17th century, was a rectangular building defined by sandstone wall footings, with a central sandstone wall partition dividing the internal space into two rooms (living area and kitchen area). The building was aligned roughly north-south and had external dimensions of 7.3 by 4.7m. The shallow and irregular nature of these foundations suggest that the superstructure had been a timber-framed construction. This phase of activity possibly included the construction of an 'L'-shaped sandstone wall foundation on the south-east corner of the building; this is thought to represent an external yard wall. Two sections of the wall-line of the building had been modified by the addition of brick wall foundations, but it was unclear whether these formed part of the primary construction or were later repairs/alterations.

In the 18th century the building was enlarged and altered. A brick wall foundation was discovered to the east of and parallel to the original sandstone foundations and may represent the addition of an annex or outrigger type addition. This was divided into separate areas by at least one, possibly two, internal divisions. The annex was originally open-ended at its northern end, but was later closed off.

A deposit of compact yellow-brown clay, sitting on top of the natural clay subsoil, was found to the north-west of the building and is thought to relate to its first phase of use. The deposit contained fragments of coal and charcoal and a few artefacts including two fragments of clay tobacco pipe bowl of mid-late 17th century and sherds of pottery dating from the late 17th to mid 18th century.

In the later 18th century a more sophisticated structure was constructed on the north-west corner of the earlier building. It had substantial wall foundations comprising a single course of large, sandstone blocks topped with well constructed brick and mortar foundations. The ground plan of this later building was not recorded in its entirety but comparison with historic mapping suggests that it did not extend much further. The main block appears to have been square in plan, approximately 10 by 10m, and was divided by an internal partition wall. The remains of probable fireplaces were also recorded. The status of this building is superior to that of the earlier, both in terms of size and materials used and it possibly represents the 'lodge' referred to on Bryant's map of 1831.

In the 19th century additions to this building included internal quarry-tile floor surfaces and outbuildings, including two long barn buildings, depicted on the tithe map of circa 1838. Unusually the layout of the farm appears to have remained largely unchanged through the 19th century until their demolition. The modern farmhouse was built in the 1960s.

This evidence suggests that the layout of Frog Hall Farm developed as a typical Cheshire dairy farm with the main changes to the layout being driven through innovations in the dairy farming cycle during the later 18th and early 19th centuries. The introduction of the 'model farm' system, increasing productivity, may have led to the construction of the more substantial farmhouse.