Building record 14044 - Late Post Medieval Barn at Springbank Farm, Bradwall

<1> Stoke-on-Trent Archaeology, 2017, Historic Building Recording at Springbank Farm, Bradwall Road, Bradwall, Sandbach, Cheshire, R4066 (Client Report). SCH8322.

An historic building survey was undertaken in June 2017 for a farm building at Springbank Farm, Bradwall, in advance of development. The barn dates to at least 1840 and is indicated on the tithe map of that year. The barn is shown as a roughly north-south aligned range, with a second east-west aligned agricultural building to the north and the farm house to the east, together forming a U-shaped courtyard plan and labelled 'Hope’s Farm'. The tithe apportionment and accompanying map for Bradwall parish indicate that Hope’s Farm, the adjacent orchard and eight fields to the west of the farm buildings, amounting to roughly 41 acres, were in the occupation of Thomas Arden. As with the majority of land in the parish, the farm formed part of the Bradwall Hall Estate and was owned by John Latham of Bradwall Hall.

The 1841 census indicates that Thomas Arden was a 60 year old farmer, living at the site, by this time known as Springbank Farm, with Hannah Moseley, Thomas' daughter, her husband, Daniel, and their two year old daughter. By 1851 Thomas had retired and Daniel had taken over the running of the farm, which by then totalled 140 acres (1851 census). By this time Daniel and Hannah had three young children and employed two farm labourers and a house servant. The 1861 and 1871 censuses show the Moseleys at the farm, with up to four servants, both domestic and farm labourers. The 1881 census shows that Daniel and Hannah’s youngest daughter, Mary Ann, was operating the farm, now expanded to 153 aces, with her husband Samuel Johnson. Hannah, now listed as a widow, continued to live at the farm. Mary Ann and Samuel went on to have four daughters, for whom they employed a governess in addition to the usual domestic and farm servants (1891 census). The Johnson family were still in residence in 1911 (1911 census). Both the 1901 and the 1911 censuses indicate the importance of cattle to the farm, each making particular record of a cattleman and a cowman respectively; the Johnson’s adult daughters are listed as dairy workers in the latter census.

The survey recorded that the barn had three principal construction phases, the first two of which seem to have been present by 1840 and the third by 1875. The building originally comprised a single unit, with wide doorways opening onto the yard. This was possibly used as a cart shed or coach house with granary above and could date to the early nineteenth or even late eighteenth century. Built onto this, to the south, was a multi-purpose barn providing space for the storage, and possible processing of crops, as well as accommodation for animals. Finally the building was connected to the range of farm buildings to the north by a covered link area. The building has undergone a number of alterations, generally the insertion of doors and windows, presumably associated with the modernisation of farming practices or a change of focus from cattle rearing and/or dairying to livery service.