EDO6111 - Shute's Farmhouse, Symondsbury; tree-ring dating 2008

Fifteen different oak timbers from the building were sampled for dendrochronological analysis. Of these, 14 samples (one having proved unsuitable for analysis) produced two site chronologies. The first, comprising five samples from what appear to be primary-phase trusses 3 and 4, had an overall length of 87 rings dated as spanning 1363-1449 and interpreted as indicating that the timbers were felled in1449. The second chronology, comprising three samples from the main beams of the ground floor ceiling, had an overall length of 102 rings but could not be dated. Cross-matching of rings suggested that the beams were contemporary with each other. Two further samples could be dated individually. The first from a principal rafter truss, indicated an estimated felling range of 1563-88. The second, from a ground floor ceiling beam, gave an estimated felling date in the range 1618-43. Seven measured samples remain undated.