EDO6071 - Ruins of former Manor House, Witchampton; tree-ring analysis 2014

Sampling and analysis by dendrochronology was carried out on six samples of timber obtained from the lintels and wall beams of the ruins, five being in situ and one ex situ. Three cross-matching samples were combined to form a site chronology of 123 rings long. Comparison to reference material for oak produced a date span for the timbers of 1432-1554 AD and suggested that these three timbers were sourced from a relatively local area, with two of them being from the same area of woodland. Three samples did not cross-match satisfactorily to the reference material for oak and were therefore ungrouped and undated. The analysis also produced an estimated felling date range of 1569-1594 AD. The timbers are later than the presumed thirteenth century date of the building’s origin and are assumed to be part of a later repair or alteration phase.