Building record MDO47354 - Barn Cottage, Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth

A house of two storeys with a barn at the north end of the range which has a deep wagon porch on its west side. Both built by 1844. Two rooms were created in the 20th century at ground floor level to the northern end of the barn, to serve as lavatories. The building is of English bond brick, which is partially rendered, and it has a thatched roof which is half-hipped at the southern and gabled at the north. The external walling of the cottage is rendered to all three sides with 20th century concrete render. Doors and windows are all 20th century replacements. Internally it is clear that the cottage and barn have undergone considerable alteration in the 19th century and 20th century which has resulted in the loss of much historic fabric. Part of this loss was roof timbers possibly reused from a ship, one of which bore the date 1537. This building was assessed for listing in 2011 but failed to meet the required criteria.

The site is shown on a map of 1777 by Francis Grose and this shows a building, which may be the present building, but which lacks the projecting wagon porch on the east side. The building is clearly evident on a tithe map of 1844 and on the first Ordnance Survey map published in 1893 with a well to its south. The second edition published in 1898 shows the division between the cottage accommodation and the barn.

The Barn was part of the estate owned by Sir George Gervis in the early-19th century, which then passed to Sir George Meyrick. In 1919 the land was bought by Gordon Selfridge, who planned to build a large castle on the site, with Phillip Tilden as his architect, and in 1930 the site was sold to Bournemouth Corporation as a public amenity.

The cottage is at the southern end of the building and of two storeys. The barn at the north end of the range has a deep wagon porch on its west side. Two rooms were created in the 20th century at ground floor level to the northern end of the barn, to serve as lavatories. The building is of English bond brick, which is partially rendered, and it has a thatched roof which is half-hipped at the southern and gabled at the north. The external walling of the cottage is rendered to all three sides with 20th century concrete render. Doors and windows are all 20th century replacements. Internally it is clear that the cottage and barn have undergone considerable alteration in the 19th century and 20th century which has resulted in the loss of much historic fabric.

The Revised Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings (March 2010) give indications as to likely periods of interest for buildings which are to be considered as candidates for statutory listing. Those of pre-1700 date that contain a significant proportion of their original fabric are listed. Also, most buildings of pre-1840 date are listed. After 1840, because of the greatly increased number of buildings erected and the much larger numbers that have survived, progressively greater selection is necessary. The selection guide for agricultural buildings points out that farm building of the period between 1750 and 1840 are of a period when English agriculture was the most advanced in the world and there is a presumption in favour of listing buildings which survive well, or which were part of a model farm.

The barn at Hengistbury Head is attractive, with mellow brick walls and thatched roof, and the plan, combining a cottage at one end of the barn is interesting, though not unusual in south-west England. However, the building has undergone considerable change. The exposed brickwork on three sides of the building shows signs of patching. And it has been masked by an unsympathetic render at the south end and punctured by window and door openings at the northern end which are clearly unsympathetic to the original design. Although it is inevitable that much of the thatched roof covering would have been replaced, this does not apply to the supporting roof structure; the trusses and purlins, ridge beam and common rafters, all of which have been replaced. The applicant mentions older timbers, possibly brought from ships, including one which bears the date 1537. A photograph, taken from the Bournemouth Times of 1947, shows old roof timbers in place at that date, apparently including the dated timber, however, these were removed as part of a thorough restoration in 1980 and replaced with modern material.

In view of the considerable alteration to the building, its fabric and plan, it cannot be recommended for designation. <1>

<1> English Heritage, English Heritage Listing File, Report on case 172280 (Scheduling record). SDO17502.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1534783 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 23 2024 3:41PM