Building record 1109/6 - Dingle Farmhouse

<1> Historic England, 2011, The National Heritage List for England, 1159813 (Web Site). SCH6528.

Seventeenth century. Timber frame with painted brick nogging; nineteenth century alterations and additions; one storey plus attic; Three nineteenth century gabled dormers with small-paned iron casements; early nineteenth century wood doorcase with hood canopy on shaped brackets, and six-fielded-panelled door. Later bay on left-hand side sham painted as timber frame. Later additions at rear; tiles.

<2> Kathryn Sather & Associates, 2021, Dingle Farm, Dingle Lane, Sandbach: Heritage Assessment, R4657 (Client Report). SCH9338.

The farmhouse dates to the early-mid 17th Century which coincides with a local increase in affluence due to the town’s fairs and market. The initial building is believed to have comprised of just two rooms on the ground floor and an attic above with a thatched roof. In the latter half of the 17th Century an additional room was added to the property. There were continued extensions in the 18th Century including an extension to the north, possibly used for dairy production, a remodel of the front entrance, a chimney stack was added as well as a new staircase and further access to the cellar. Further alterations in the 19th Century included the enlargement of the north wing. The three first floor rooms were enlarged and a small extension was built on the west gable wall creating a larger ground floor room and a second staircase. The front facade of the farmhouse was altered in the early 20th Century by adding three brick buttresses for structural support.

Tithe and census research documents that in the early 19th century the farmhouse was associated with a substantial amount of farmland, and the proprietor in 1841 farmed approximately 50 acres of land. This was dramatically reduced by the 1881 census, by which time the farm was described as 18 acres of land. The 1899 map shows the outline of a garden to the south-west of the farmhouse and two additional buildings to its east, the L shaped brick barn and a further barn. In the 20th century the plot of land to the north of the house was significantly decreased with the addition of a wooded area.

<3> Archaeological Research Services Ltd, 2022, Archaeological Watching Brief: Dingle Farm, Sandbach, Cheshire, R4658 (Client Report). SCH9337.

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken during groundworks associated with the development of Dingles Farm. Across the site a selection of brick structures were investigated and, supported by several finds, these indicate that residential and farming activity occurred within the vicinity of Dingle Farmhouse between the mid-19th century and early-20th century. As nothing earlier was seen in these works, despite the age of the farmhouse, the suggestion is that this area of the village began expanding around this time.