EDO5962 - Fiddleford Manor, Sturminster Newton; dendrochronology 2003

Tree-ring dating of timbers from the hall, solar, and buttery. The building is known for elaborate roofs in the hall and solar, thought to be contemporaneous and of late 14th-century origin. No timbers from the hall roof were dated. Three timbers from the solar roof dated, two apparently from the same tree. The felling dates for the two trees involved are AD 1301-33 and AD 1324-54, suggesting a slightly earlier construction date than previously thought (traditionally attributed to the period of ownership of William Latimer, after AD 1355). A main beam from the buttery ceiling was felled after AD 1524, and three inserted beams in the hall most likely form a single group of timbers felled in the winter AD 1553-4, at the end of a known period of remodelling the property.