Building record 1689/0/9 - Tithe Barn, Malpas

<1> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 55586 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

House, probably seventeenth century, stated to have been tithe barn, much altered and partly rebuilt. The similarity to Glebe Farmhouse CHER:1689/0/7, almost adjacent, suggests that this is not the case. Brick-nogged oak small framing to front; rebuilt in brick at rear. 1½ storeys; 5 bays. A long, low building with a large oak-framed dormer near each end. Small-pane casements except where replaced, left of door. Replaced framed and boarded oak door. Garage inserted under right dormer, with boarded folding door, in keeping. The rear and interior are wholly altered. Listed for group value and historic associations only.

<2> L - P Archaeology, 2004, Archaeological Building Assessment of Land at Tithe Barn, Malpas, Cheshire, R3243 (Client Report). SCH6595.

An archaeological building assessment was undertaken in 2004 for the Tithe Barn in advance of proposed building work. It dates from the later sixteenth or early seventeenth century and appears to have been used as an agricultural shed attached to the glebe lands of Malpas Higher Rectory until 1947. In 1947, an unsuccessful campain to raise funds for its conversion into a village hall led to the building being sold off and converted into a private residence, resulting in loss of historic fabric. Further works were undertaken to the building from the 1970s. The existing historic fabric is limited to the two reset trusses, which have survived the conversion of the building, the street-frontage elevation and the broad proportions of the building.

<3> AOC Archaeology Group, 2008, Tithe Barn, Church Street, Malpas: Archaeological Investigation (Written Communication). SCH8898.

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken in 2008 at the site of the Tithe Barn during ground reduction works for the construction of a new garage in the north part of the site. The area impacted measured approximately 8m square, to a maximum depth of 1m. The earliest deposit was a red-brown, sandy clay, representing the local natural deposit. An east-west linear feature cut the natural on the south-east side of the trench and it was thought to represent a deliberately cut terrace, potentially marking the original property boundary. The feature contained two fills; the primary fill extended to a depth of 0.4m, but contained no finds, however, the secondary fill contained a few sherds of pottery dating from the Roman to the post medieval periods. It is thought that the primary fill derived from a mix of material imported to the site in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. The cut feature was overlain by a soil deposit, which in turn, was covered by a thick layer of garden soil. A lead pistol shot and handle for a pewter spoon were recovered from the garden soil by a metal detectorist.

Further observation during the excavation of a trench for a water tank also recorded the same natural deposit, overlain by sub-soil. No further archaeological features or finds were identified.