This collection comprises image, text, photogrammetry, laser scanning, GIS and CAD data from building survey work at The Old Barn, Birmingham Road, Coleshill, Warwickshire which was undertaken by COPA: Cotswold Oxford Pre-Construct Archaeology between 2020 and 2022.

Project Summary

COPA was commissioned by PCPT Architects, on behalf of BBV working for HS2, to carry out Demolition Integrated Recording at a site on the south side of Birmingham Road in the parish of Coleshill, North Warwickshire. The site is centred on NGR SP 19098 88192 and comprises two adjacent groups of buildings identified as non-designated heritage assets and known as the Capitol Joinery Timber Yard and the Old Barn Guesthouse. The recording was undertaken in two phases, prior to and during the demolition of the structures as part of the main works for HS2. The recording was undertaken in an intermittent programme October 2020 and October to December 2022.

The Project Plan (Doc. No: 1EW04-LMJ_DJV-EV-PLN-NS04_NL10-029008) defined the scope, rationale, aims and objectives for the historic building recording. The Project Plan provided a summary of the origins and historic development of the Site through an external assessment and through an assessment of available historic cartographic sources, as gathered during the preparation of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement. It also defined the methodology for the appropriate level of historic building recording.

The Location Specific Written Scheme of Investigation (Doc. No: 1EW04-LMJ-EV-MST-NS04_NL10-029007) was prepared in response to the Project Plan, setting out how the building recording works would be delivered. It had been prepared in accordance with the standards and guidance provided by the Generic Written Scheme of Investigation (GWSI) Historic Environment Research and Delivery Strategy (HERDS), the Technical Standards for Specification for Historic Environment Project Plans (HS2-HS2-EV-STD- 000-000036) and Location Specific Written Schemes of Investigation (Doc. No: HS2‐HS2‐EVSTR-000-000015), the Specification for Historic Environment Investigations (Document No. HS2‐HS2‐EV‐STD‐000‐000035) and the relevant CIfA Standards.

The aims and objectives of the historic building recording are set out in the Project Plan and the Location Specific Written Scheme of Investigation. The historic building recording was to be undertaken to a Level 2 survey, as agreed within the Project Plan and defined in Historic England’s 2016 Understanding Historic Buildings: A Guide to Good Recording Practice, as required to create a record of the building before its demolition to ground level prior to commencement of Coleshill No.3 Embankment and Coleshill East and West Viaducts as an element of the enabling works programme for the HS2 project in the Coleshill area. A record of the Site within its setting was included in the investigation.

The objective of the historic building recording as detailed within the Project Plan is to investigate and record each of the buildings at the Site, with particular consideration given to:

• Recording the extent and character of the different parts of the main building and ancillary structures containing any historic fabric;
• Recording any elements of architectural or historic significance that may survive within the fabric of the buildings;
• Identifying and explaining possible phases of development and alteration of the buildings;
• Understanding the circumstances that led to the construction of the buildings through desk-based and archival research;
• Understanding the changes that affected the local area and how they are reflected in the fabric of the buildings;
• Assessing the significance of the asset and its setting;

The aims of the setting recording are to elucidate the relationship between the Site and the extended Coleshill Hall Estate, during the 19th and 20th centuries, with consideration given to:

• Identifying the historic relationship between the asset and the buildings in use as part of Coleshill Hall Farm;
• Clarifying the use of the land in the demesne of the Coleshill Hall Estate and its connection with the buildings on the Site;
• Understanding the patterns of circulation in and out of the Site when the buildings served the farmstead as ancillary structures and during the following centuries.

The scope of works seeks to create knowledge and outputs that contribute to GWSI: HERDS Specific Objectives:

• KC29: Develop a detailed understanding of the nature, formation, date and chronology of the historic landscape at Coleshill, including the former Coleshill Deer Park, Coleshill Hall Farm and moated site.
• KC52: Understanding the pattern, form and function of post-medieval rural vernacular architecture: can we identify regional, intra-regional or temporal variations?

Re-Use Value Statement

The location, extent, survival and significance of any heritage assets of archaeological interest on this site have been captured in this dataset. This can inform future research into the archaeology and practices within the site and surrounding landscape, but also for the county as a whole.