Building Knowledge Archive

If you follow us on social media you’ve probably come across our Building Knowledge posts, which give you an insight into some of the incredible buildings we’ve been fortunate to work on, as well as many fascinating public buildings we’ve seen while out and about. These posts are now archived here in case you missed any along the way.

Hover over the images to learn more about them!

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In this week’s #buildingknowledge we take a look at Mount Pleasant Methodist Chapel in New Mills, where we have had the pleasure of undertaking archaeological works for the development of the former Chapel. The Chapel dates to 1892, replacing an earlier range of cottages and a chapel constructed in 1838, which became too small for purpose following the merging of small Methodist societies in New Mills. The highly decorative new building was classically styled, taking influence from the Renaissance Revival style of architecture, popular for non-conformist places of worship in the later 19th century. The building became the primary place of worship for the New Mills Methodist community in c.1969, but closed its doors in 1980 due to the declining membership of Methodism in England. A fire in 1993 had seen the destruction of the roof and much of its original fabric, with only the exterior walling and a limited degree of architectural features surviving. The development works being undertaken will see its conversion into a dwelling, a café and an art centre, and will breathe new life into this significant building that has been underappreciated and left to decay for over 25 years. The new venue will provide the bridge between heritage, cultural and leisure activities and a meeting place for the local community, the building once more becoming a focal point for the community. © ARS Ltd 2023

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In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we take a look at the Grade I Listed St Mary and All Saints Parish Church, Chesterfield, with its wonderfully wonky spire. The building originally dates to c.1234, with the present structure predominantly dating from the 14th century, as well as rebuilt sections from the 18th century. The building forms a mixture of Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular Gothic styles, with 19th century restoration works undertaken by prominent Gothic Revival architect Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1843. The spire was constructed in c.1362, with the reason for its famous twisted shape still debated. One theory suggests that sunlight heating the southern side of the spire had caused the lead to expand at a greater rate than the northern side. Another purports that the plague of the 14th century had resulted in a shortage of skilled craftsmen, with the use of ‘green timber’ and lack of cross-bracing being the reason behind the contortion. Local legend suggests however that the devil had wrapped his tail around the spire, causing it to become crooked! © ARS Ltd 2023

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we take a quick look at the Grade II Listed Hartington Lime Kilns, Northumberland. This magnificent structure has been built from well-dressed squared and coursed sandstone blocks, and features four large triangular openings, which appear reminiscent of a lair from an epic fantasy film! These openings are corbelled down, with 2 oval brick-lined pots at their bases. In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we take a quick look at the Grade II Listed Hartington Lime Kilns, Northumberland. This magnificent structure has been built from well-dressed squared and coursed sandstone blocks, and features four large triangular openings, which appear reminiscent of a lair from an epic fantasy film! These openings are corbelled down, with 2 oval brick-lined pots at their bases. The now disused lime kilns related to a lime quarry to the east, with the area also retaining a fantastic range of ridge and furrow. © ARS Ltd 2023

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In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we are looking at our recent historic building recording of the wonderful Grade II Listed former Canal Warehouse, Marple Wharf, Stockport. The building dates to c.1835, being constructed following the formation of the Marple wharfs in the 1820s and 1830s, and it was the focal point of the wharf, playing an important role for Marple’s canal network. This large, two-storey former warehouse, constructed in the vernacular style from locally sourced materials in a utilitarian design, had originated with a connection to the Macclesfield Canal - as seen with the extant shipping doors, and with the internal waterway connecting with the north-eastern canal arm. This would have allowed narrowboats to unload and load within the building itself. The building had originated with a full-height aperture and loading door on the northern elevation, and these features were likely associated with a hoist for the movement of goods between floors. The historic building recording was undertaken to discharge a condition in the Listed Building Consent application. The development works will breathe new life into the structure for use as a café, heritage centre, and gift shop at ground floor level, with a fitness centre at first floor level. © ARS Ltd 2023

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we are looking at the spectacular Lanercost Priory, Cumbria. The Priory had been founded by Robert de Vaux, where he invited the Augustinian order to establish a community there in 1169, with the area newly gained from the Scots in 1157. Hadrian’s Wall resides under a mile to the north, ideal for the pillaging of stone during construction, with the building retaining examples of stone with traces of Roman inscriptions! Given its proximity to the border between England and Scotland, the Priory had seen a tempestuous and violent history, thought to have been attacked by Robert Bruce himself. Following the Dissolution, a number of the buildings on site had been converted to private dwellings by Thomas Dacre, with these now known as Dacre Hall. Around the mid-18th century, the nave of the Priory had been restored for use as a Parish Church, with further restoration work undertaken by Anthony Salvin in 1849. © ARS Ltd 2023

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In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking the Gilbert Scott Building at the University of Glasgow! This magnificent building, positioned at Gilmorehill, Glasgow, was named after its designer, Sir George Gilbert Scott, one of the leading architects of the Gothic Revival style in the Victorian period. Scott had been commissioned to re-house the University of Glasgow buildings from their earlier location within the Medieval city, with the impact from the industrial revolution in Glasgow making the area unfit for scholastic pursuits. The building was inaugurated on 7 November 1870, though a number of its significant building elements remained unfinished due to insufficient funding and Scott’s death in 1878. Scott’s son John Oldrid Scott went on to finish the building, and was responsible for the design of its distinctive clock tower, which was erected between 1887 and 1891. This tower features four turrets, an open lattice stone spire, and, with the building’s commanding hillside position in western Glasgow, is highly visible within the surrounding area. © ARS Ltd 2022

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're taking a special look at longhouses, which we recently had the pleasure of providing background information for on Channel 4’s Grand Designs! Longhouses represent highly significant traditional and vernacular buildings, and are important components of our historic built environment. With the longhouse, we see the unique merging of the agricultural and the domestic under one roof. There was a symbiotic relationship for the human occupants and farm animals, with the cattle providing warmth for the family, and the farmer keeping an eye on the livestock, overseeing their condition, and making sure that they weren’t stolen. The early examples of longhouses from the medieval period represented basic rectilinear structures, over one storey and of a single bay in width, with interlocking rooms. One of the defining characteristics of the longhouse is the central cross passage, accessed by both the farm animals and human occupants, and which provided important interconnectivity between the ranges. While the longhouse has ancestry in the Neolithic period, the historic and true longhouse dates from the medieval period, and is primarily localised to the north and west of the British Isles, in rural and upland areas of the country. However, many evolved to become longhouses over time throughout accretion, as with the building pictured with Kevin McCloud and Joe our Historic Buildings Officer. © ARS Ltd 2022

In today’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at the magnificent St John the Baptist’s Church, Tideswell, Derbyshire, known widely as the Cathedral of the Peak for its size and grandeur. The church had been built between 1320 and 1400, though delayed in construction by the arrival of the Black Death. The Grade I Listed building is constructed in the Late Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic styles, and replaced an earlier small Norman church. The Cathedral of the Peak had undergone restoration work in 1875, which was lauded for its emphasis on restoring over reconstruction. The building holds a commanding position within the centre of Tideswell, and makes an important and valued contribution to the local setting. © ARS Ltd 2022

For this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at two Second World War pillboxes at Standish, Greater Manchester, that we recently had the pleasure of recording to Historic England’s Level 3 standard. The two pillboxes were constructed as part of the defensive efforts against the German invasion, following the occupation of France in 1940. These structures had formed part of the defensive network for the Ministry of Supply (MoS) small arms ammunition factory to the north. The MoS site represented an important asset for the production of ammunition during WW2, and its protection was paramount to the war effort. These structures were small and basic in design, with reinforced poured and shuttered concrete walls to protect against enemy fire. They also each feature loopholes for providing defensive gunfire against any invading forces. The single-cell structures with internal benches suggests that they would have housed a small unit of soldiers, likely three light machine gunners. They represent examples of an unofficial pillbox style, not reflecting any of the known score of pillbox design styles understood within the secondary literature. These pillboxes offer a visible reminder of the scale of defensive efforts that took place during the Second World War, as well as the potential threats that people faced. © ARS Ltd 2022

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In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we look at the wonderful Longnor Hall, Penkridge, Staffordshire, for which we recently had the pleasure of producing a Heritage Statement. The Grade II* Listed Hall dates to 1726, and includes a provincial Baroque small style country house, functioning as a farmhouse and representing the principal seat within the small settlement of Longnor. The whole site comprises the main Grade II* Listed Hall, the Grade II Listed Coach House and Weighbridge House, seven traditional farm buildings, and a number of modern barns. © ARS Ltd 2022

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at the Grade I Listed Corn Exchange, Leeds, West Yorkshire. Leeds Council had commissioned the construction of the building following petitions by farmers and merchants in the mid-19th century for a better corn market, with the first purpose-built corn exchange built in 1828 no longer deemed as suitable. The building had been constructed between 1861-3, and had been designed by British architect Cuthbert Brodrick, also known for his design of Leeds Town Hall. The two-storey building is oval in plan form, constructed with coursed ashlar gritstone with diamond rustication, and features a magnificent oval dome roof structure, formed of iron ribs. Internally, there are rows of moulded brick round arches, providing access to the original 59 factors’ offices, with an open ground floor plan accommodating 170 corn factors’ stands. The building was converted as a shopping facility between 1989-90, and now represents a popular retail destination within the vibrant city of Leeds. © ARS Ltd 2022

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For this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we are showcasing our work on the Grade I Listed Cromford Mills, which we are delighted to hear has recently received planning approval. Archaeological Research Services Ltd had recently been commissioned to produce a Heritage Statement to assist a proposed development at Cromford Mills, which represents a core component of the UNESCO Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Our work focused upon the surviving structural remains and wheel pit of the second mill, with the exciting proposed development aiming to utilise the existing watercourse and wheel pit to generate renewable energy and enhance the site’s visitor interpretation. © ARS Ltd 2022

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In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at the Grade I Listed Penrith Beacon, situated on the summit of Beacon Hill. There is thought to have been a beacon on this site since the 13th century, with the current beacon constructed in 1719. The structure is built from red sandstone, with a pyramidal roof, and semi-circular arched apertures with keystones on each side, where the alerting fire would have been lit. The beacon would have been used to communicate the threat of impending attacks from Scottish raiders to the local population and wider settlements within the region. © ARS Ltd 2022

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we are back looking at the magnificent Carlisle Cathedral, focusing upon the triumphant eastern window and the phasing of the Cathedral’s choir. The choir is over seven bays with ranges of 13th century Gothic arches on clustered columns, with the decorated Gothic arched eastern window installed c.1350. The window is over 50 feet tall, and had been designed by Ivo de Raghton, with a range of surviving original stained glass. The in-situ choir space had superseded a shorter and narrower choir, which had been rebuilt following a fire in the Cathedral in 1292. The phasing of the earlier choir is evident from the western end, which features a Gothic archway for the organ, with this representing the earlier width of the choir. Adjacent to this, to the right, there is a straight joint and blocked Norman arch associated with an earlier aisle. Within the upper portions of the walling, there are markings to show that there had been plans to rebuild this area with an archway matching the scale of the eastern window, though this had not come to fruition. © ARS Ltd 2022

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In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we are back with another sham castle, but this time on a much larger and grander scale. The remarkable Grade II* Listed Lowther Castle, Cumbria, had been built by Sir Robert Smirke for the 1st Earl of Lonsdale between 1806 and 1814, on the site of an earlier medieval hall. This fascinating sandstone faux castle has been built in the Gothic style, with pointed arches with stone tracery and soaring battlemented towers, but is wholly symmetrical in its design, making it distinctly of 19th century character. The building had been constructed with 260 rooms at a cost of £77,000. Lowther Castle was closed in 1935 and subsequently used as a tanking range during the Second World War. Today the building stands as an extraordinary ruin, with the roof removed in 1957. © ARS Ltd 2021

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In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at the Grade II Listed folly on the grounds of Nercwys Hall, Flintshire, Wales. The folly dates to the late 18th or early 19th century, with the Hall constructed in the early 18th century in the Elizabethan style. While there had been important structures within the landscape for country houses in the previous centuries, it wasn’t until the 18th century that we started to see the construction of the weird and wonderful folly. The name is apt, given the extravagance and impractical use of these structures. They were costly and grand in their designs, representing important and eye-catching fixtures within the designed landscape of country houses. They were often built on distant hillsides, giving the owner a clearer sense of the vast range of their lands. With the Picturesque movement in the later 18th century, came an increasing range of follies in the form of sham castles, as we see with this structure. The folly has been constructed in sandstone with a central tower flanked by shorter towers, with crenelated battlements, and with decorative blind crosses and quatrefoils. © ARS Ltd 2021

Taking a break from site, for our #BuildingKnowledge this week we had the opportunity to visit the magnificent Carlisle Cathedral and learn more about this fascinating building. The Cathedral originated in the early 12th century on the site of an existing Augustinian Priory, and has had a range of substantial modifications throughout the medieval and post medieval periods. Our focus for this post is on the elaborate and richly decorated ceiling of the Cathedral’s choir. The structure of the ceiling and its timbers date to the 14th century, with the current design incorporated in 1856 by architect Owen Jones. Its design has panels of golden stars on a blue background, with coats-of-arms of local gentry. Each panel features a central star surrounded by 16 smaller stars, with one of these panels only featuring 15 surrounding stars. This imperfect design is thought to have been implemented to reflect the idea that only God should be perfect, seeing a fusion of architecture and religious belief. In a few weeks' time, we will be back to focus upon the triumphant eastern window and fascinating phasing from the Norman cathedral and its medieval expansions. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at the highly decorative Grade II* Listed Former Wedgwood Institute, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, which may look more at home as a palazzo within the city of Venice. The building had been constructed in the Venetian Gothic style as a library and art school in 1869 by Nichols of Wolverhampton, and further modified in design by Robert Edgar and John Lockwood Kipling. It had been built in honour of Josiah Wedgwood, who had been a titan of pottery in the 18th century, and had played a huge role in developing the industry within the Potteries towns. The richly decorated red brick building with terracotta dressings features a bust of Wedgwood above the central archway, with 10 carved terracotta panels between the floors depicting the process of manufacturing pottery. At first floor level, there is a continuous arcade with blind Gothic arches supported by engaged columns, which feature terracotta panels depicting months of the year and their zodiac signs. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at the humble field barn, important vernacular structures found within our agricultural landscapes all over the country. These barns were built to provide a use away from the localised centre of the farmstead, usually within the more isolated areas of the landscape. Sometimes varied in their function, depending on the type of farming taking place, field barns would predominantly be used to provide shelter for farm animals and harvested crops. With a field barn, the crop could be stored and fed to livestock close to the area it was cultivated, with the manure from the cattle then spread onto the surrounding fields, thereby drastically minimising the amount of travel to and from the farmstead. In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at the humble field barn, important vernacular structures found within our agricultural landscapes all over the country. These barns were built to provide a use away from the localised centre of the farmstead, usually within the more isolated areas of the landscape. Sometimes varied in their function, depending on the type of farming taking place, field barns would predominantly be used to provide shelter for farm animals and harvested crops. With a field barn, the crop could be stored and fed to livestock close to the area it was cultivated, with the manure from the cattle then spread onto the surrounding fields, thereby drastically minimising the amount of travel to and from the farmstead. This particular example was situated on the route towards Hayeswater Tarn, within the Lake District National Park. This area of the Lake District predominantly comprises sheep farming, with this structure likely representing a "hoghouse" field barn, with the shorter animal sized doorways. The barn has been constructed of local rubble limestone, and features a small hayloft with a ventilation slit to the right, with shelter for the sheep below and to the left. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we are looking at the distinctive barrel vaulted roof of the Grade I Listed Church of St Cuthbert, Bellingham, Northumberland. This church has origins in the 13th century and had been remodelled extensively in the early 17th century. The highly unique barrel vaulted ceiling dates to this phase of remodelling, and comprises an expansive roof structure featuring fifteen sets of transverse chamfered stone ribs, supporting stone slabs above. This had likely been constructed in place of earlier pitched timber roofing to provide increased fire protection for the church against rising attacks from Scots, with Bellingham situated close to the border between England and Scotland. © ARS Ltd 2021

Have you ever come across this carving on a building? In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we look at OS benchmarks, which represent survey marks chiselled by Ordnance Survey, as a means to record height above Ordnance Datum. If the height of one of these benchmarks is known, then the height of the next one can be found by measuring the difference in heights through spirit levelling. Over 500,000 OS benchmarks had been created, and while they come in a number of forms, the earliest and most common types relate to those traditionally cut onto buildings and structures. These had been produced from the early 19th century until recently, and while they vary cut to cut, they usually feature a horizontal levelling line with three arrow lines pointing towards it. This example had been carved into the exterior wall of the Grade I Listed, Church of St Oswald, Filey, and features a metal bolt in the centre of the levelling line. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at some fascinating graffiti at Cragend Farm, Rothbury, Northumberland. The farm had origins in the 16th century and had been remodelled by Lord Armstrong in the 19th century. It had been acquired as an estate farm of Cragside Country House, where Armstrong had built the first house to be lit by hydroelectric energy in 1863. Armstrong also went on to install water turbines for the powering of machinery at Cragend Farm in the 1880s. The graffiti at the farm spans from 1867 to the later 20th century, with particularly interesting examples from the Second World War. These provide an invaluable insight into life during the war. They reflect the changing social climate at the time, the impact of those returning from service and taking up work on the farmstead, and exemplify the continuation of mundane aspects of farm life. There had also been ranges of graffiti inscribed in other languages, such as Italian, German, Spanish and French, suggesting that the farm may have been worked by prisoners of war. If you are interested in learning more about Cragend Farm, historic tours of this fascinating site are now being offered, and can be booked via their website. © ARS Ltd 2021

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In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we are looking at a wonderful sandstone carved panel we came across recently in Hayfield, Derbyshire. This panel resided above a central segmental arched former cart entrance, of the former Headquarters of the Hayfield Cooperative Society, built in 1871. The highly decorative carved stonework shows a cherub blowing a trading ship at sea, which is loaded with goods and features sails adorned with the English three lions, as well as a lion figurehead. There is also a neo-Classical influence, with waves formed of Vitruvian scrollwork and Greek keys over the deck’s handrail. The carving had likely been symbolic of the supplies arriving to the Co-op from afar, within the cart entrance below. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week’s #BuildingKnowledge we are looking at 'Pinfolds', which were once common features of villages, spanning from medieval times to the 19th century, but today are rare to find. A Pinfold represented a pound where straying livestock would be impounded until their owners paid a fee. If no payment was forthcoming, the animals would be sold to cover the cost. The fee would usually be paid to the “Pinder”, an agent for the Lord of the Manor who owned the Pinfold. The origins of the word Pinfold date to the Anglo-Saxon period, with the word “Punfald” meaning enclosure in parts of Northern England. Found in a variety of forms, we encountered this Grade II Listed example recently in Lancashire. The Pinfold in question formed a rectangular enclosure, well-built, with coursed and irregularly sized sandstone walls up to c.1.2m in height. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week's #BuildingKnowledge we take a look at what is thought to be the oldest surviving freestanding industrial chimney in Britain - the chimney at Stone Edge Smelt Mill. The chimney was built around 1770 for the Stone Edge smelting works and remained in use up to about the 1860s. The works were placed close to the summit of a hill, beside the East Moors of Derbyshire, probably in such a barren spot due to the fumes given off during the smelting process. In fact, the location of this smelting site probably gave the neighbouring Belland Lane its name - 'Belland' meaning “lane poisoned by powdered lead ore.” Today, Stone Edge Smelt Mill is a Scheduled Monument, its remains representative of a reverberatory or ‘cupola’ smelt mill. These types of mills, the earliest being built near Bristol, were developed in the late 17th century and would be the first successful cupolas in Britain for lead and copper smelting. This new design also marked an important step towards the switch from wood to coal fuel which would render the Industrial Revolution possible. © ARS Ltd 2021

In our first #BuildingKnowledge of the year we are looking at the Grade II* Listed St Cuthbert’s Church, Bedlington, that we had the pleasure of visiting while undertaking heritage consultancy work nearby. This building is thought to date to the 10th century and has a number of fascinating features. The nave represents the earliest surviving area of the building, dating to the 12th century, and features a Norman arch with chevrons. The building has seen substantial changes throughout its history, the most extensive of which took place in 1817, when a large semi-circular gallery was installed. This was built during a period when Protestantism placed a strong degree of emphasis on the Word of God, with far less importance placed on visuality. The phase saw decorative features removed from the building, and replaced with semi-circular arched plain glass windows and white washed walls. The church was then redeveloped to its current layout in 1912, with the semi-circular gallery removed. Glimpses of the fascinating early 19th century phase are still visible within the fabric, as seen with the blocked windows of the third photograph. © ARS Ltd 2021

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In our last #BuildingKnowledge of 2021, we're looking at a unique window surround we came across as part of our work on an early 18th century traditional farmhouse. The first floor window featured a modern timber framed casement, with ashlar sandstone lintel with a semi-circular arch and concave moulding with three ball motifs. The jambs of the stone surrounds are curved and the sill is chamfered in the central section. This was a particularly decorative and unique feature of the farmhouse’s exterior, with three-light chamfered mullioned windows seen elsewhere. This window was positioned within an original outshot projecting from the rear of the farmhouse, and was likely related to an earlier staircase no longer present, providing natural light to a landing. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week's #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at two large-scale germination floors we came across as part of a Level 3 historic building recording we produced for The Maltings in Gainsborough. The complex likely dated to the late 18th century, with the germination floors situated within the earliest of the structures on site. These floors were spacious areas, originally twelve bays in length and three in width. At ground floor level, long ceiling beams are present, supported by post and pad timber supports. The first floor germination floor featured a timber aisle framed roof, with queen posts supporting king posts above. Following the collection of grain from the riverside at the site, the grain would have first been steeped in a cistern, to allow for the adequate absorption of water. This would then have been spread over these large-scale floors, for germination under controlled conditions. The grain would have been manually turned and spread for around two to three weeks, to reach the correct germination stage, where the malted grain would then be dried in a kiln. For more information on this interesting site, head to our YouTube channel at the link below for a short overview of the building's phasing and history. © ARS Ltd 2021

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In this week's #BuildingKnowledge we're looking at an interesting entrance we came across recently as part of a historic building recording we undertook on Gladstone House, Union Court, Liverpool. The building originated in the later 19th century as an office building with a bonded wine and spirit store in the basement. The principal elevation features rows of symmetrical sash windows, crucial for providing natural light for the clerks to work, and features this central stone entrance. This entrance is infused with the Gothic and Classical style, with a Gothic arch decorated with fleurons, supported by sets of engaged columns with acanthus scrolls and capitals, with chamfered plinths at their base. The capitals had been cut into during modifications to the entrance in the later 20th century. For more information on this interesting building, head to our YouTube channel for a short overview of the building’s history and phasing. © ARS Ltd 2021

On today's #BuildingKnowledge we take a look at the varieties of the Gibbs Surround. This was a stunning doorway surround made popular in the early 18th century by James Gibbs - a renowned architect of the Palladian and Baroque styles, who designed a range of high profile buildings, including Senate House, King’s Parade Cambridge, and Radcliffe Camera, Oxford. This particular Gibbs Surround variation was found on a hospital building, originally constructed as a nurse’s home in the late 19th century. The main entrance featured a round-arched entrance with Gibbs Surround, alternating brick and sandstone blocks with interrupted triangular pediment with central ‘Nurses Home’ motif.” © ARS Ltd 2021

See previous caption for more information. This Gibbs surround was found on a late 19th century banking building, which had a central double door within an architrave doorcase of rusticated fluted pilasters, and featured a frieze with triglyphs and patarae. The carved tympanum with segmental pediment had been added in the early 20th century. © ARS Ltd 2021

See previous caption for more information. This Gibbs Surround was found on the principal elevation of a mid-18th century red brick Georgian town house. This variant of the Gibbs Surround was pedimented, with rusticated jambs, and a central pronounced keystone with flanking voussoirs. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week's #BuildingKnowledge we take a look at piggeries, with this beautiful purpose-built piggery dating to the early 19th century. Prior to the 18th century, with the enclosure of common land, it was commonplace for pigs to roam in coppices and woods under a swineherd. They were then moved more predominantly to the farmyard. This structure had been built as a lean-to extension to a stable block, and possesses a number of interesting traditional features. These include short pig access doors, flanking feeding chutes, and a privy/log store extension. The feeding chutes were implemented to protect the feeder, against the pigs charging for their food. The piggery also had interior evidence for a loft space, which could indicate the presence of a former poultry loft. The piggery would have kept the poultry warm, which facilitates an ideal climate for laying eggs. These structures are sometimes known as a poultiggery. © ARS Ltd 2021

In this week's #BuildingKnowledge we're showing our appreciation for domed ceilings, which we've had the pleasure of working with recently as part of historic building recordings. Domed ceilings are thought to have first been used in ancient Mesopotamia, with use in Roman, Byzantine, and Renaissance architecture, and with a strong resurgence in neo-classical buildings. The first gorgeous domed ceiling was found within an early 20th century neo-classical theatre, within a public staircase to access the theatre seating. The ceiling featured a central bull’s eye window, with an outer course of decorative egg and dart plasterwork. The second was within an early 20th century waiting hall extension to a 19th century town hall. This large-scale hexagonal domed ceiling connects with courses of plasterwork linking with an outer cornice. © ARS Ltd 2021

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Following on from our post-excavation team's 'Finds Friday', we're delighted to reveal a new series from our historic building experts! 'Building Knowledge' will be introducing a new architectural feature each week, along with photos of some great examples we've come across. Today, we're all about date stones, which can make our job much easier when trying to understand the origins of a building, although they are not always considered the most reliable sources... This date stone was situated within the first floor of a combination barn that had all the appearance of dating to the late 18th or early 19th centuries. Further investigation at the archives found parish records dating to the late 17th century, which provided an accurate location description for the barn in this place at this time. This allowed us to conclude the barn had likely seen a phase of large-scale rebuilding, with the date stone moved to the first floor. © ARS Ltd 2021

This date stone dates to the 17th century, but was found on the lintel of a barn door constructed around a century later, suggesting it had been repurposed. © ARS Ltd 2021

This date stone was found on the lintel of a farmhouse, accurately dating the building to the early 18th century. © ARS Ltd 2021