Town Farm, Glanton, Northumberland: Archaeological Building Recording

Building recording was conducted in advance of proposed alteration work at Town Farm, Glanton, Northumberland. It comprised a photographic and drawn survey of historic farm buildings with a basic record of modern farm buildings to give context within the farm layout. Town Farm has its origins in the mid-18th century when the farmhouse was constructed. Apart from the farmhouse none of the buildings have been dated to this earliest period. Historic mapping shows that the earlier farm buildings lay immediately to the south of the proposed development area and west of the farmhouse. They included a long south range with an attached gin-gang, indicating the presence of a threshing barn. This range was demolished in the later 19th century as part of a programme of modernisation which saw the present historic farm buildings constructed to the north of the farmhouse. The earliest buildings are the T-shaped structure in the centre of the farm, and the two-storey granary and cart shed. The T-shaped structure has been heavily modified to leave only the western and northern elements, and retains no historic features that helped identify its original function. It is likely that the south range was used for livestock while the northern end served as a barn. The granary and cart shed is in much better condition, although later alterations have blocked several of the cart shed openings and the floor of the granary is in a poor state. Historic mapping shows that by the end of the 19th century the original south range of buildings had been demolished and replaced by the present L-shaped range of buildings at the south-west corner of the farm. This comprised a south range which featured a hen house and riding stable, and a west range which included two hemmels with associated stock yards to the east. A workhorse stable with a hay barn above stands at the north end of the L-shaped range and is contemporary with it. In addition, a detached T-shaped threshing barn was built in the northern part of the farm.