Monument record MWX3124 - Medieval settlement, Middlebere Farmstead, Arne

Settlement at Middlebere Farmstead. The name Middlebere is first mentioned in 1291 and referred to in connection to the salt industry in the fourteenth century. (1)

<1> Wilmott, M, 1997, Middlebere Plateway, Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, 110,145 (Unpublished document). SWX1395.

<2> Papworth, M, 1992, Middlebere, Corfe Castle Estate, Dorset. Wessex Region, 13 (Unpublished document). SWX1394.

The name Middlebere is first mentioned in 1291 (Mills 1980 p72) it is referred to in connection with the salt industry in the 14th century (see112525). On the 1586 map (Treswell) two buildings are shown here one on the east and one on the west side of the track to Middlebere. The map shows the large building on the west and the smaller building on the east side but it is hard to rely on that degree of detail from the map as today the situation is reversed with the main farmhouse on the east side of the road and a small outbuilding to the west. Much of the fabric of the buildings may date to the 17th century with later additions on the north and south ends of the farmhouse but documentary and structural evidence indicates an older element to both buildings. There buildings are of exceptional archaeological interest with the smaller “bakehouse” building having particular rarity value (fig.4). If this building is of a detached bakehouse it is probably the best preserved example in Dorset. By 1775 (Woodward) a barn had been built within a yard to the north of these older buildings and the Estate 1” – 25” O.S. map has penciled notes on the usage of various additional farm buildings surrounding the farmhouse at that time (see fig.5) The vernacular survey report give a detailed description of the buildings but it is included within this survey because of the medieval origins of the site and its links with the salt production industry. Information on the origins of the settlement survive within the fabric of the buildings on the site and within the soil strata beneath the buildings, garden and yards. Visited 10/7/1992

Record last edited

Aug 9 2023 11:56AM