Source/Archive record SCH8343 - Bank Farmhouse, Tabley Hill Lane, Tabley, Cheshire: Historic Building Survey

An historic building survey was undertaken in October 2017 of a farmhouse, Bank Farmhouse, located on Tabley Hill Lane, Tabley, Cheshire (NGR: SJ 7330 7927), in advance of its demolition and construction of a new dwelling. The building survey was requested by Cheshire Archaeology Planning Advisory Service, as the site has been identified as being of historic interest. A rapid desk-based assessment undertaken of the site of Bank Farmhouse has indicated that there appears to have been a building or buildings at the site in the second half of the 18th century. Early 19th century mapping appears to show two sets of buildings, the house and an L-shaped range. The earliest cartographic source to clearly show the buildings at Bank Farmhouse, as well as provide information on land ownership and occupancy, dates to the mid-19th century, when the farm was owned by Lord Tabley and was tenanted by Joseph Ashbrook. The historic building survey has identified the earliest phase of the house as being ‘T-shaped’ in plan, with two additions, a two-storey extension to the north-east side, and a single-storey extension to the north. The two-storey addition appears to have been in existence by the 1870s, as suggested by the Ordnance Survey map of 1876. The single-storey addition may have been added in the early 20th century, although it does not appear to be present on the Ordnance Survey map of 1910. The earliest phase, the T-shaped two-storey building, is constructed of brick with large windows in the south facing elevation, and is similar in character to the Grade II listed Beson Hill Cottage and Rose Cottage on Tabley Road; these cottages are noted to be of probable mid-18th century date. The T-Shaped plan for houses was common in Britain from the late 17th century through to the late 18th century, so a possible date for the construction of Bank Farmhouse of the mid-late 18th century would fit with this general period of construction, and the cartographic evidence. The historic fittings found in-situ within the interior of the house at the time of survey would also fit with an 18th century date.