Building record MDR1227 - Buildings A and B at Hurdlow Grange, Hartington Middle Quarter

Buildings A and B at Hurdlow Grange, Hartington Middle Quarter, possibly originally 16th century buildings. A photographic and written record of four of the six then-standing outbuildings, in addition to a watching brief, was carried out in 2005 prior to their redevelopment into residential units. Buildings A and B are semi detached, on a east-west alignment, with B on the west side and A on the east side. At the time Building B had most recently been used as a shippon, but the presence of two fireplaces, at ground and first floor level demonstrate it was previously a dwelling. On the upper floor earlier window openings were filled with re-used sandstone blocks when the space was adapted as a hayloft. Most significantly are two surviving cruck frames that were 'raised crucks', commencing 1.73m above the floor, encased in the stone fabric of the building, providing enough headroom for a second floor. The surveyors suggested that the beams may have been removed from an earlier building elsewhere and re-used in Building B, which appears clearly on the enclosure map of 1804. However, an anonymous sketch map of 1614 shows a rectangular block on this southern side of the road, possibly in this position and on the same east-west alignment. This could be Buildings A and B, or an earlier structure on the same site. (1) Building A was also in use as a shippon at the time of survey in 2005. Its stone construction was typical of 19th century technique but had obviously been added at various times. Similarly , the upper floor of this building was also used as a hayloft at some point in its history. The eastern gable wall contained evidence of a large arched brick oven, and another indeterminate feature. (1) The watching brief monitored the removal of the concrete floor, uncovering a sandstone flagged surface below it, with a layer of rubble, preceded by a compacted lime mix floor, preceded by more hardcore, and the earliest floor encountered was of beaten earth. Associated with this latter floor was a centrally placed hearth. (1) An earlier survey carried out in 1994 discussed the former farm as a whole: 'The complex is comprised of a 19th century farmhouse and six outbuildings [four of them of historical significance]. These are abutted by several modern elements which in part obscure external detail of the stone buildings. The house is a plain, two storey, T-shaped building with 19th century detailing. This is confirmed by 19th century maps. The outbuildings also have 19th century details. A map from 1804 indicates a building which has been demolished between 1804 and 1879. The present farm buildings were largely present by 1879, but appear to have been rebuilt between the 1840 and 1879 Ordnance Survey maps. The only building which survived this remodelling was the barn, although this underwent external remodelling in the 19th century. In 1804, the largest building was the barn, which was C-shaped and it is unclear if this was the house or an outbuilding. This building was not checked during the survey in 1994 as there was no opportunity for inspection.' (2) According to the photographs included in the 2005 survey report, Buildings A and B did not have roofs at the time, and appear to have been surveyed mid-renovation. Google imagery (Google Earth) dating to 2006 shows that a roof had been built, ant what had been the most western end of Building B had been demolished.