Monument Type(s):

• GARDEN WALL (17th century - 1600 AD to 1632 AD)
• BARN (19th century - 1800 AD to 1899 AD)
• COW HOUSE (19th century - 1800 AD to 1899 AD)
• PIGSTY (19th century - 1800 AD to 1899 AD)
• STABLE (19th century - 1800 AD to 1899 AD)

Summary

The walls of an early 17th century walled garden [see PRN 08469], which have been variously incorporated into a number of 19th century farm buildings, which are protected by Grade II Listing.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA4807 - 1988/1989 Survey of Walled Garden and Farm by CHAU
• ESA5590 - 1995 evaluation at Apley Castle by University of Bristol Archaeological Service (Ref: UBAS ACP 95A)
• ESA695 - 1989 building recording at Apley Castle by CHAU

Description

Garden walls. Early C17. Built of random bond brick with triangular stone coping, of which complete section remains to all of north-east wall and to south-east return; early C17 doorway to north-east return, with stop-chamfered square-headed architrave; north-west wall incorporated into front wall of mid C19 brick cowhouse with gabled plain tile roof; C16 wall, of squared and coursed sandstone with triangular coping, extends southwards from centre of north-west wall, to meet piers flanked entry blocked by C19 bricks at south end, attached to row of early C19 pigsties and 2-storey outbuilding with gabled old tile roofs attached, at right angles, to south-east section of C17 brick wall retaining some of its stone coping. The south-west section of wall has been incorporated into front wall of barn and stable range built of brick with gabled old tile roofs: barn of mid C18 date, doubled in size by early C19 extension, has sandstone hinge blocks to 2 segmental-arched threshing floor doors, and timber lintel and flat header arches over loft door and 3 ground-floor doorways; stable of c. 1800 with segmental-arched doorway and flanking windows and later C19 lean-to extension to south; interior of 7-bay barn has purlins carried on partition walls and early C19 king-post truss to north; interior of stable has reset early/mid C18 chamfered beams and king-post trusses <1>

The bricks indicate C17 construction, with the coping stones probably of the same period. The wall has a thin projecting brick plinth in parts. At the eastern end of the north wall is a primary doorway with stone jambs and a flat head made of a single stone block, similar to the early 17th century doorways in the house itself. This was originally paired with a door in the east end of the south wall, but this has been blocked and robbed of its stonework. The position of any further doorways is unknown. The extent of the surviving portions of the garden wall is shown on a plan in this report. In parts it is only a few feet high and in others very fragmentary. The buildings associated with the wall are all of later constructional date, having grown up around it <2>

Detailed description of wall given. The east wall is best preserved, surviving virtually intact, and the eastern halves of the north and south walls are well preserved though incorporated into later structures. The western half of these walls has virtually disappeared. The western wall has survived in places but has been incorporated piecemeal into various structures. Accurate dating of these associated buildings is very difficult. They were mainly built in hand-made brick in a plain vernacular style which could be anything from mid 18th to late 19th century. The buildings are considered in detail in this report. Along the south west side of the garden they include a cartshed and stable range, loose boxes and a barn plus extension. On the north west side are mostly cowsheds and stores, with two small buildings of uncertain function (possibly feed preparation areas) attached. Just outside the east wall of the garden are a dovecote [see PRN 17433] and an icehouse [PRN 20395]. Against the wall bisecting the two halves of the garden are piggeries, probably originally 18th century and a possible feed store. The interior of the western half of the garden contains a covered yard, and the eastern several glasshouses. The wall is similar to the walls of both Madeley Court and Albright Hussey <3>

Points out that description in [<1>] of the central dividing wall as C16 is unlikely to be accurate: this is more likely to be much later, but reuses late medieval coping stones. The report contains individual descriptions of the agricultural buildings <4>

<00> Shropshire County Council SMR, SMR Sheets Collection, SMR Sheet for PRN SA 17432 (Card index). SSA20723.

<01> Department of the Environment (DoE), 1983-Apr-08, 19th List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, p95. 10th Amendment (Addition) 30/10/89 (List of Buildings). SSA662.

<02> Morriss Richard K & Shoesmith Ron, 1989, Apley Castle, Shropshire: an interim report May 1989 (Field survey report). SSA2719.

<03> Morriss Richard K, 1990, Apley Castle, Wellington, Shropshire: the Walled Garden & Farm: a Preliminary Survey (Field survey report). SSA20819.

<04> Horton Mark C, 1995, Apley Castle Park: Archaeological Evaluation of Development Site (Archaeological fieldwork report). SSA2728.

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.