Monument record 15747 - Site of Grinsome Farm, Ince

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire, SJ 46 76 1873 (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.

L shaped buildings, courtyard and outbuildings depicted on this late 19th century map

<2> Archaeology Wales, 2011, Grinsome Farm, Ince: Archaeological Excavation, R3191 (Client Report). SCH6405.

Place name evidence suggested that Grinsome Farm may have Norse origins - Grimr being a name and Some meaning island or meadow, so Grimr's Island/Meadow. The first mention of Grinsome Farm, according to Dodgson's Placenames of Cheshire, is in a rental of 1440 held in the Public record Office.

On the OS 1 st Edition 1 :2,500 County Series Map of 1873 the site is shown as occupied by Grinsome Farm. The farm comprises a farmhouse, a large L-shaped outbuilding and smaller rectangular outbuilding set around a square yard. To the rear of the farmhouse (south-west) is an orchard, while to the front (north-east) is a linear arrangement of small rectangular fields. The whole farm complex sits within a large, roughly D-shaped field that is surrounded by small, regular rectangular fields. These rectangular fields are likely to be post-medieval in date, reclaimed from the marshes through the use of drainage channels, while the D-shaped field could be earlier. The location of the farm on ground raised slightly above the surrounding land, within an irregular shaped field could indicate that the site has been settled for a considerable period of time.

In September 2010 an excavation in advance of development at Grinsome Farm, Ince, Cheshire. The excavation revealed the remains of a post-medieval farmhouse, yard and outbuildings. The farm buildings are nineteenth century in date, and are depicted on the OS 1st Edition 1:2,500 County Series Map of 1873. Stones originating from earlier structures were reused in the construction of Grinsome Farm, although it is not certain where these originated from. No evidence was revealed to show that the site had been occupied prior to the construction of the farm.

<3> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, Vol 3. P 252 (Book). SCH3228.

GRINSOME FM, Grymsholme 1440 rental, Grinsoms Farm 18 Bry(ant), Grinsome 1842 OS, 'Grimr's island or meadow', from the ON pers.n. Grimr (cf Grim) and holmr