| Abstract: |
The documentary research found that historically this was Finch's Farm, named after the family that farmed the land during the late 19th and into the 20th century but previously had possibly been recorded as Eye's House. It is likely that a farmstead, or perhaps only a barn, was established at the Robin Farm West site, judging from a datestone of 1677, and certainly it was a freehold by 1725, and presumably habited at that time. The Walmsley's then the Withington's owned it in the 18th and 19th century, before the Finch's took over sometime between 1864 and 1882. Although the Historic Environment Record records the presence of a pipe shop in the vicinity, this does not appear to have been at Robin Hill farm West, but was to the north, at Robin Farm House. The surviving buildings on the site are likely to date to the 19th century, though there is evidence of the reuse of earlier stonework, seen at the base of the farmhouse (Building 1), and perhaps by the former triangular air vent noted from the brickwork in the pigsty forming part of the barn (Building 2). Any earlier buildings are likely to have been in ruin by 1818. The farmhouse and barn (built by 1830 based on cartographic evidence), and also features noted during the building survey, including the presence of a circular pitch hole, introduced around 1825, suggest a 19th century construction date. There were major alterations made to the barn, and to the farmhouse, in a different brick bond, and these are likely to have occurred by 1842, suggesting swift prosperity at the farm. Building 3 was a shippon, or cow shed, and was constructed between 1894 and 1908, a fairly late example of this kind of building. The farm seems to have originated as a small dairy farm, with pigs playing a small role. |
