Listed Building record MDR5250 - Nos. 7-12, Church Street, Dronfield
Type and Period (1)
- CRUCK BARN (Elizabethan to Victorian - 1600 AD to 1900 AD) + Sci.Date
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
In an annexe to shops on Church Street, Dronfield, at SK 353784, there are 3 raised cruck frames with collars and saddles. (1, 2)
Five crucks are recognisable, with there having originally been perhaps six or seven. The most westerly is now only half a bay, having been shortened and the end wall put in when the house was added onto the end. The building was divided into small shops and warehouses in around 1930. (3)
This long stone building was once a barn for the now demolished farmhouse that adjoined it to the west. It was later split into three parts and used as shops. Within its stone walls are five pairs of cruck timbers, with wind braces and pegged purlins. A stone plinth to one cruck timber survives and can be seen in the rear wall. (4)
Nos 7-12 Church Street have been formed from a farm outbuilding which appears to have been altered, extended and raised at one end to form a dwelling, now with a shop at ground floor level, and adapted and subdivided internally at some time in the late 19th or early 20th century to form a number of single-storey shop units. The principal survival of its earliest phase of development are the series of cruck trusses which appear to have supported the original walling, and which continue to carry the purlins, tie beams, wind braces and rafters of the present roof structure. Although somewhat decayed in some areas, the trusses are substantial examples of their kind, formed from massive, well-finished timbers, which appear not to have been significantly altered since the time of assembly. Some wind braces have been removed, most noticeably at the west end of the building, where empty mortices in the purlins suggest that there was a further truss where the present stone gable now stands. The building, which is grade II listed, was assessed by English Heritage in 2010/2011 for potential upgrading to II*. While this was not recommended, the list description was revised so as to more fully describe the building's cruck framing and roof carpentry which form the basis of its special interest. (5)
During conversion of the sub-divided retail building into residential use, the opportunity for the cruck-framed barn timbers to be examined arrised. The earliest phase of construction was dated to the 15th century, however the main structural timbers date to the 16th century, suggesting two phases of construction. (6)
Hidden within the stone walls of the present shops are 5 pairs of timber cruck frames. At the rear of the building the base of one of these frames can be seen resting on a stylobat, the architectural term for the stone plinth. This was an ancient method of construction used up to the 17th century. Crucks are made from splitting curved oak trunks or branches and using both halves as a matching pair. Ridge and cross beams were added to the roof before thatching and walls were made of wattle and daub, to be replaced in later years with stone or brick. The cruck building belonged to the farm which stood on the church car park. (7)
Sources/Archives (7)
- <1> SDR10958 Index: NDAT. 0784. 0784.
- <2> SDR8885 Article in serial: Marston, F. 1967. 'Cruck frames of Derbyshire; an interim report', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Volume 87, pp 117-122.
- <3> SDR3540 Bibliographic reference: Bunker, B. 1970. Cruck Buildings: An Opinion as to their Origin and Dating. LS 728.6. p 28.
- <4> SDR19748 Unpublished document: Cowley, H (North East Derbyshire District Council). 1978. Dronfield Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal.
- <5> SDR21405 Unpublished document: English Heritage. 2011. Advice Report: Nos 7-12 Church Street, Dronfield. Case Number 465413.
- <6> SDR23235 Unpublished document: West Yorkshire Archaeological Services (WYAS). 2015. 7-12 Church Street, Dronfield, building recording and watching brief.
- <7> SDR23399 Bibliographic reference: Old Dronfield Society. 2009. Explore Dronfield: Heritage Trail No. 1 Dronfield Old Town.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 353 783 (40m by 9m) (Centre) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | DRONFIELD, NORTH EAST DERBYSHIRE, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (5)
- EDR3829
- EDR3623
- EDR3762
- EDR3023
- EDR3826
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Sep 1 2020 10:08AM