SDO14003 - 1 and 2 Court Farm Cottages, Bere Regis, Dorset, Archaeological Watching Brief Report

‘Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Smiths Gore, on behalf of their clients (H W Drax 1962 Discretionary Trust) to undertake an archaeological watching brief during underpinning and associated groundworks undertaken during the refurbishment of adjoined semi-detached cottages located at 1 and 2 Court Farm, Bere Regis, Dorset, centred on National Grid Reference (NGR) 384890 94670. The Court Farm cottages lie within the limits of an historic manorial settlement which is a Scheduled Monument (SM1015352). The Court Farm manorial settlement possibly originates from the Saxon period, and is clearly present from the medieval period onwards. The Manor House was standing prior to 1587 and was demolished around 1830, with its foundations still visible as earthworks. The settlement also included fishponds, outbuildings and a granary, which was illustrated in a drawing dating to 1786 and which appears to have subsequently formed part of the western wing of 1 and 2 Court Farm Cottages. The Archaeological watching brief was undertaken between 25th October and 12th December 2011 and comprised the monitoring of four test-pits, seventeen underpinning holes, two soakaways and associated drainage trenches and an oil line trench and revealed a consistent sequence of archaeological features and deposits. Examination of the foundations around the building confirmed that the construction material used below the stone foundations of the south-western gable end of the western wing of the farmhouse was clearly different from that seen elsewhere and is of medieval origin. There was no evidence of any significant alteration to these foundations and the results are consistent with the former granary forming part of the structure of the cottages. The remainder of the archaeological structural remains and deposits recorded during the watching brief were of undoubted post-medieval or modern origin. The southeastern cornerstone of the northern rear extension to the original farmhouse, with its chamfered edge and fleur-de-lys motif, derived from the lower section of a fire surround dating to the 15th/16th centuries and is the most striking example of the reuse of worked stone blocks. One of the most likely sources for the building stones used as foundation material for the farmhouse extension is likely to be from the demolished remains of the adjacent manorial estate buildings. Little would appear to have changed after the construction of the farmhouse extension until the building of an adjacent brick outbuilding and a large brick built storm drain/culvert with its associated drainage system, all of probable Victorian origin. The metal flue remaining on the outer wall of this outbuilding and a brick housing point to its use as a laundry. The associated wash coppers and stove were no longer present and are likely to have been removed during the later part of the 20th century prior to reflooring the outbuilding with concrete.’