| Title: |
Shield Hall, Slaley, Northumberland. Historic Building Recording and Watching Brief |
| Series: |
The Archaeological Practice unpublished report series
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| Downloads: |
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thearcha2-516885_212666.pdf (21 MB)
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| Biblio Note |
This report was uploaded to the OASIS system by the named Publisher. The report has been transferred into the ADS Library for public access and to facilitate future research.
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| Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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| DOI |
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| Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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| Abstract: |
The Shield Hall buildings complex principally comprises a 19th-century farmhouse on the west side of three ranges of farmbuildings arranged around a central yard which is open to the south. Historically and architecturally the most significant part of the complex is the north part of the West Range which probably represents the cross-wing of a 13th century house. A programme of historic buildings recording, carried out prior to, and during development works focused on the West Range, and was followed by several phases of archaeological works which included investigatory test-pitting, monitoring of built fabric during demolition works and monitoring of groundworks. The consolidation and refurbishment work reported here involved minimal disturbance to the existing fabric of the standing buildings, but small patches of the subsiding north wall were removed and replaced in order to arrest cracking and subsidence, while a first-floor section of the west wall of the 19th century barn was removed for the insertion of a new window. No significant observations were made during this process either concerning structural features or worked stones removed from the standing fabric. The principal interventions, however, occurred at and close to the intersection between medieval and 19th-century components of the west wall where two exploratory interventions preceded the unblocking of an inserted doorway, presumably of 19th century date, in order to create a connecting doorway between the farmhouse and refurbished West Range. This process resulted in the exposure of quoins at the end of a section of walling, oblique to both the internal faces of the medieval and 19th-century phases of the west wall, which joins the original medieval wall with the thinner 19th-century barn wall, but was keyed into the former. Thus, it appears that when the cross-wing was truncated prior to building the 19th century barn, the south end of its west wall was narrowed or built onto in tapering form before quoins were added, presumably to consolidate the structure. The southern barn appears then to have been abutted to the formalised south end of the medieval structure. In addition to work on the north and west walls of the West Range, excavation and recording was carried out prior to the demolition of a cross-wall and construction of the new end wall, while on the first floor above the vault the existing flagged floor was drawn and photographed prior to its removal and relaying. Neither of these interventions revealed features or finds or note. The work carried out at Shield Hall in 2022-23 for purposes of consolidation and conversion to residential use confirmed the importance of the north part of the range and added something to what is known of its structural history. The recorded fabric interventions impacted minimally on surviving medieval built fabric and other remains at the north end of the range, whilst in the southern part the loss of fabric in the position of a new window does not significantly alter the character of this 19th century part of the range. Whilst it could be argued that lean-to structures on the north face of the range were a part of the recent history of the complex, their loss is of little significance, and, importantly, exposes the original north face of the medieval structure. Similarly, the insertion of a non-load-bearing end wall to the undercroft caused no loss of subsurface remains and to some extent visually reinstates an end wall lost from close to that position during or prior to major 19th century alterations. |
| Author: |
Richard J Carlton
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| Publisher: |
Archaeological Practice Ltd
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| Other Person/Org: |
Northumberland HER (OASIS Reviewer)
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| Year of Publication: |
2023
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| Locations: |
| Parish: |
Slaley |
| District: |
Northumberland |
| Country: |
England |
| County: |
Northumberland |
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Grid Reference: 395329, 558699 (Easting, Northing)
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| Subjects / Periods: |
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| Identifiers: |
| OASIS Id: |
thearcha2-516885 |
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| Source: |
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| Created Date: |
12 Feb 2024 |
