Building record 2592 - Batherton Dairy House

<1> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 1138572 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Originally a farmhouse, now two houses, late C17, with later alterations. Red brick, in Flemish Bond, with old tile roof. 3 storeys and basement, 3 bays. A 2-bay rear wing (south) completes an "L" shaped plan. 3-course deep brick bands at first and second floor levels. Flush casements, some altered, with flat cambered arches at ground and first floor level. Two of the second floor windows have glazing bars but the central window is blocked. There is a sawtooth course at eaves. Gable end stacks. Interior: Oak slightly chamfered beams and large inglenook beam. Exposed ceiling joists. Staircase with cut and bracketed string and ramped handrail. Chamfered beams and wide-boarded doors on strap hinges at first floor level.

<2> Cheshire County Council, 1974, County Treasures Record, 7/IA.073 0 1984 (Y) (Index). SCH1000.

<3> Aeon Archaeology, 2024, New Dairy House Farm, Batherton Lane, Nantwich, Cheshire East, CW5 7QH: Level 2 Building Survey, R4804 (Client Report). SCH9677.

Level 2 building record, including photographic survey, produced in 2024 for the Old Dairy House prior to alteration. This now comprises two separate residences which are both considered as a single Grade II heritage asset. The southern section of the building is an attractive structure built from local materials with a modest interior and few architectural features or fittings. There is little evidence of its former use or how it evolved over time. It may have originally served as the service quarters for the adjoining 18th or 19th-century farmhouse. The middle section could represent the 17th-century historic core of the house, with the north section being a later rebuild. This theory is supported by the unusual footprint seen on the 1839 tithe map. Alternatively, the south section could be an extension to the main north section. The later south-eastern extension to the building included an open area with a double doorway on the south-western elevation; this, combined with the presence of drainage gullies in the ground-floor store, suggests that the extension was used for butchery and livestock processing.