Bamford House (ruined farmhouse, outbuildings & walls), Derwent & Howden Moors

Summary

A ruined farmhouse, outbuildings and adjacent field walls, dating to at least 1767, when it is shown on a map.

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Description

(1-4) A ruined farmhouse, outbuildings and adjacent field walls, dating to at least 1767, when it is shown on a map.

(5) On an enclosed map for Derwent of 1830 it is shown as Bamford House - clearly a farm with accompanying fields enclosed before 1830, preserving the profiles formed by ridge and furrow (although not visible today). Four buildings appear to be shown, in a different configuration to those still visible, and some of the field walls have now gone. The ruined complex consists broadly of a farmhouse with attached buildings and at least one yard with an outbuilding. A stone terraced track leads out of the yard to the SE, and a number of hollow-ways can be seen leading up the hillside from the buildings. Although ruined, the complex (particularly the farmhouse) is in an ideal condition from which to learn about the construction techniques and layout of a (post medieval?) upland farm: the buildings are collapsing in situ rather than being robbed, so roof timbers have fallen vertically together with the stone roof flags. Although some of the walls have collapsed to no more than 1.5m high, some appear to remain at virtually full height. Two walls were recorded as still standing to full height in April 1992. The positions of windows doorways, and upper floor levels can be seen. Of interest also is the drystone field wall running down hill from the yard. It is of unusual construction - the stones of which it is built being set in rows at right-angles to the steep hill slope instead of being laid parallel to it. It appears to have been rebuilt at some time but the style has remained the same. The unusual building method and the care taken in construction may indicate the former status of the farm.

(6) Bamford House is an abandoned stone-built farmstead comprising the visible remains of three buildings and an enclosed yard. It is associated with a walled field system, lynchet (feature 16:73), hollow-ways (features 16:74, 16:75) and a probable earlier settlement site (feature 16:72).

The enclosed yard forms the centre of the farmstead around which are situated three buidlings attached to the yard wall. To the south-east is a probable L-shaped farmhouse which has surviving mortared walls standing almost to eaves height in places, timbers, and roof and ridge tiles. The positions of doorways, windows and upper floor levels are visible. The building appears to have collapsed rather than been robbed. To the south-west is a small outbuilding while to the north-west is the very ruined remains of a building, probably a barn, or a livestock fold. This comprises a pile of densely packed stone which has been dry-stone walled on all sides. Most of these walls appear to be original building walls while the south-eastern wall may have been constructed after abandonment to contain the structure. This wall runs at forty-five degrees to the alignment of the original building. To the immediate north-west of this structure are low mounds which are presumably comprised of collapsed building material.

The yard is situated in the northern corner of a valley-side field, utilising field walls for its north-western and north-eastern sides. These field walls were enclosed before 1810 (Fairbank). There are three gateways situated in the corners of the north-east, south-east and north-west yard walls. The yard has been partly terraced into the slope. There is a low revetting wall running along the slope within the yard and a terraced trackway leading to the gateway in the north-east wall.

Bamford House is situated on the steep valley side at approximately 345m above Ordnance Datum. There is a lynchet to the south-east of the farmstead which could be the remains of a field boundary or the downslope edge of a terraced trackway (feature 16:73). There are two hollow-ways upslope of the farmstead (features 16:74; 16:75). The former provides access to the settlement from the valley-bottom. This trackway runs on to Abbey Bank from the valley-bottom via Abbey Grange then follows along the contour until the point it runs adjacent to Bamford House where it turns diagonally upslope in a north-westerly direction from the farmstead. To the north-west of the farmstead is a series of platforms terraced into the slope which are probably the remains of a former settlement, possibly pre-dating Bamford House (feature 16:72).

Bamford House appears on Burdett's map surveyed in 1767, the earliest plan of the survey area available to the present archaeological survey (Hartley et al 1975). Only one building is depicted but this seems to have been Burdett's convention for all farmsteads and cannot be taken as representative of the actual number of buildings present at this time. The date for the initial occupation of Bamford House is unknown and this site may have replaced an earlier settlement to the north (feature 16:72).

In 1810 there are four buildings shown on the enclosure plan covering the valley (Fairbank). Three are in the positoins of the surviving building remains while the fourth is to the south-west of the enclosed yard. By 1880 the farmstead was mapped by the Ordnance Survey in the layout which survives today, and it was apparently still occupied at this time. Abandonment occurred between 1880 and 1911 (Ward, 1955).

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