MEM23150 - Farley Water Farm (Building)

The farmstead is shown on the Brendon Tithe Map and labelled 'Farley'. At this stage, it comprised what appears to be a linear farmhouse (coloured pink) at c. SS 7440 4628, and several farm buildings (coloured grey), including two abutting parallel ranges at SS 7439 4632 and SS 7440 4632 running northeast to southwest, described as farm buildings with a yard on the accompanying apportionment document. However, the plot in which the 'farmhouse' is depicted is only labelled as garden and has no name provided. A further three buildings were sited at SS 7442 4630, SS 7437 4629 and SS 7444 4629; the latter is described as a house in the apportionment. [1] By the time the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was published, the farmhouse shown on the Tithe Map had been demolished. To replace it, the southeastern of the two parallel ranges had been demolished and the building at SS 7439 4632 appears to have then been used as the farmhouse. A new range was built to curve around the southern end of a new farmyard, which may incorporate the building on the Tithe Map at SS 7442 4630; alternatively, the latter may have been demolished to accommodate the new range. One of the two other buildings mentioned above on the Tithe Map, at SS 7437 4629 had also been demolished but the building at SS 7444 4629 may still be extant. Since the 2nd Edition map was published, the farmstead has been subject to small scale alterations and additional buildings constructed to the east and south. [2-4] The farmstead was visited in January 1997. The house was described as a largeish medieval three room planned building with an 18th or first half of 19th Century facelift and lifting up. It faces over a garden onto a largeish informal concreted yard, with an early 19th Century hipped roof barn post dating a low range of early (possibly 17th Century) buildings with tin roofs. Other buildings make a loose enclosure on the southeast side. [5] Given the information provided in [5], it is possible that the house shown on the Tithe Map at SS 7440 4628 (if it is not a mistake in the first instance) replaced the earlier domestic building, which had another farm building constructed across its face. This buildings would have then removed to show the original frontage. Further investigation is needed to confirm this hypothesis. [6]