Listed Building record MDO16887 - Outbuilding at Scholes Farm, Corfe Castle

Thirteenth century outbuilding, probably largely rebuilt in the eighteenth century. Rubble stone walls, and a stone slate roof with, in the north gable wall, a blocked segmental-pointed arched doorway

SY 963799. Scoles Farmhouse of one storey and semi-attics was built in the early 17th century with 18th and 19th century additions, to supersede a small medieval hall-house of which parts survive incorporating into two nearby outbuildings. Plan.

An outbuilding, (`A' on plan) largely rebuilt in the 18th century, incorporates in its south wall the remains of a single-storey medieval hall containing a blocked late 13th or early 14th century two-light window and a buttress of two-stages. The rebuilt west wall contains a series of rectangular bee-holes set under relieving arches of rubble. Hutchins (1774) referred to this building as "formerly a chapel now converted into a barn", although Shipp could see very little of ecclesiastical character when he visited circa 1861 Le Jeune recorded the structure as a leper's chapel or hut but without any apparent evidence or foundation.

An outbuilding (`B' on plan), mainly of 19th century and modern date contains in the north walls a blocked medieval stone doorway,
and some 2 1/2ft to the west is a rectangular medieval stone feature reminiscent of a buttery-hatch, now also blocked. <2>

As described but the house is now in a private dwelling unconnected with the farm but known as Scoles Farmhouse. <4>

<1> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1861, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 1, 525 (Monograph). SWX4496.

<2> DOE (HRR), 1952, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Wareham and Purbeck Rural District 1952, 21 (Scheduling record). SWX2549.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(Centred ST 96377995) Scoles Farm (NAT) Chapel (NR)

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 1, 93-94 (Monograph). SDO148.

'(126) Scoles Farm, house (963799), of one storey and semiattics, was built in the early 17th century to supersede the small mediaeval hall-house of which parts survive incorporated in two Outbuildings. In the Assize Rolls for Dorset, a William de Scovill occurs under this hundred in 1244 (Fägersten, 121) … The farmhouse is joined by a later pent-roofed annexe to an Outbuilding standing 4 yds. away on the N.W. incorporating the remains of a single-storey mediaeval hall. In the S. wall is a late 13th or early 14th-century window of two lights with two-centred heads, continuously moulded reveals and a moulded label following the outline of the heads; it is now blocked. A buttress to the E. is of two stages. The E., N. and W. walls have been rebuilt, and the last contains a series of bee-boles set under relieving arches of rubble. A second Outbuilding, 2 yds. S.W. again, contains in the N. wall an altered chamfered stone doorway, now blocked, with a distorted segmental-pointed head and a relieving arch. Some 2½ ft. W. of the doorway is a rectangular chamfered stone feature reminiscent of a butteryhatch, but now also blocked. Both the foregoing features are mediaeval.'

<5> Wardale, C F, Various, Field Investigators Comments CFW, F1 CFW 16-APR-86 (Unpublished document). SWX2704.

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OS52/F39/7 (Index). SDO14738.

NORTH WALL OF MEDIEVAL CHAPEL FROM NORTH.

<7> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OS52/F39/8 (Index). SDO14738.

WEST WALL OF LEPER HUT FROM WEST.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456420 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 11 2023 3:04PM