After countless hours spent campaigning against
the Welsh Assembly Government’s plan to demolish the historic post-medieval
farmhouse at Lower Cosmeston Farm, the authors of this blog-site are delighted
to hear that CADW have recognised the historical significance of Lower
Cosmeston Farmhouse and have decided to grant it legal protection as a Grade II
listed building.
As many people will already know, we have been acting
as heritage consultants for the Keep Cosmeston Green group for a number of
years campaigning for the preservation of Lower Cosmeston Farm.
Cosmeston Medieval Village needs little introduction.
The reconstructed buildings, which were built upon original medieval
foundations, offer a fascinating insight into the medieval world, and a great
afternoon out, as well as providing a location for a number of re-enactment
groups in the summer months.
What many people are unaware of is that Lower Cosmeston Farm, which stands opposite Cosmeston Medieval Village, is the great historical survivor at Cosmeston, and represents the post-medieval evolution of Cosmeston from a medieval village decimated by the disasters of the fourteenth century, to its revival as a small prosperous hamlet in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
(The re-faced south wall of Lower Cosmeston Farm)
As historians with a background in archaeology, we know the Cosmeston area very well. As undergraduates we both partook in excavations at Cosmeston Medieval Village as well as undertaking other independent post-graduate research such as fieldwalking, phenomenological (landscape) studies and historical research, and as a result have discovered several new archaeological sites, including the remains of a hitherto unknown medieval building and what is likely a multi-phase Romano-British settlement.
(View showing the seventeenth century fireplace within the west gable wall)
We, much like most people, were aghast to hear about the Welsh Assembly Governments’ (WAG) plan to build at Lower Cosmeston Farm.
We were even more aghast to read the
archaeological and historical assessment regarding the buildings and
archaeological landscape at Lower Cosmeston. Surely, we thought, with such an
abundant range of historical architecture and a rich archaeological landscape
at risk, not to mention the close proximity to Cosmeston medieval village,
there would be a strong case for retention and preservation as a historical landscape
of enormous interest.
The heritage consultants who were engaged to
write the report however did not share our view. The historical architecture
apparently did not ‘reach CADW’s ‘high threshold’ for retention, and the
archaeological survey, much to our surprise, did not manage to locate any
significant archaeological remains.
We were left with no choice but to challenge
the findings and conclusions of the report and try to make a positive case to
CADW, who were not involved in the initial archaeological and historical
assessments, for the retention of the seventieth century farmhouse and
associated eighteenth century barns, as well as conducting our own
archaeological excavations to prove the existence of archaeology. For a two-man
team, who both work full time and have family commitments with one of us living
abroad, and who had never done this sort of thing before, this proved to be a
great challenge.
An application for listing had been submitted
prior to our own and we were told by CADW Lower Cosmeston farmhouse had already
been rejected. Upon reading the listing report, which consisted of a desk-based
assessment of Lower Cosmeston farmhouse, it became apparent that the author had
not only based his assessment primarily around a blog article that we wrote,
but the report also contained a great deal of inaccurate information. We
therefore took it upon ourselves to write our own building listing report for
CADW’S consideration so as to state a positive case for retention and to
address the many inaccuracies in the desk-based assessment. We were told that the
report would be passed on to the relevant department. We expected to hear no
more.
At the same time, we took it upon ourselves to
open a series of trial trenches on top of an area we strongly suspected of
containing medieval remains. It did not take us long to discover archaeology. Barely
within a few inches of the topsoil we encountered an occupation layer of
medieval date. Further digging revealed a wall footing of drystone construction
as well as a mass of pottery and foodstuff remains.
A near total absence of post-medieval material
strongly suggested an abrupt end to this occupation, and in keeping with the
nearby village of Cosmeston, the plague and famine of the fourteenth century
were likely contributors to the dearth of post medieval activity. Due to
constraints with time and funding the excavations were limited, as more often
than not there was only one of us available to carry out trench digging, but
the main goal was to prove the presence of archaeology, which we did.
We were severely hampered by the foul winter
weather which made digging very difficult. More often than not we would arrive
to find our trenches completely flooded, yet we pushed on as we realised that
the consultation process only afforded us a very limited amount of time. We
duly wrote an accompanying report to be sent to the local archaeological unit.
We were keen to share our discovery within the archaeological community and get a second opinion, especially in regard to the vast range of pottery that we excavated from the various contexts. So, we set about contacting a wide range of archaeologists ranging from the local archaeological unit GGAT, university lecturers from our university days, the National Museum of Wales, the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), as well as a number of other archaeologists and academics who were present with us when excavating Cosmeston or who have in the past have undertaken research at Cosmeston. Not one showed any interest in our discovery let alone expressing an inclination to visit the site. To say that we were shocked would be an understatement. We are sure that these people have their reasons for their silence or disinterest, however any new local archaeological discovery has always attracted a great deal of interest from academics and archaeologists. When helping to excavate Cosmeston medieval village, for example, we encountered many archaeological visitors, including several from far afield.
We also attempted to garnish as much publicity
as we could from media outlets, yet many chose not to respond to our emails.
Those that did subjected our articles to heavy editing and generally
misrepresented our views and our discoveries.
We felt that we did all that could be done. It
was now a matter of waiting. We, alone and isolated, two very passionate and
knowledgeable individuals trying to do what is right, fighting against a vastly
more powerful force who could boast a massive budget, teams of legal
professionals with years of experience in development planning and a ruthless
ambition to concrete over wherever they see fit. We sat and waited hoping for
the best yet expected to hear the worst.
Out of the blue, we received an unexpected
email from Elizabeth Parkinson (Phd, FRHistS) regarding an unrelated matter. It seemed somewhat of a coincidence, but Elizabeth’s area of
expertise is in seventeenth century history, in particular within old Glamorgan,
having transcribed the 1670 Glamorgan Hearth Tax Assessment, amongst other
things to her credit. Elizabeth, it seemed was totally unaware of our battle to
save Lower Cosmeston Farm yet was only too keen to help once appraised of the
appalling situation and our epic two-man struggle against a ruthless and powerful opponent, and a system that routinely chews-up, and spits-out local residents concerns and
efforts to save their precious green spaces from what some erroneously call
‘progress’.
Elizabeth, and a number of her friends and
colleagues, joined our campaign by helping to lobby CADW for the preservation
of Lower Cosmeston Farmhouse. As much as this extra support was appreciated and
was no doubt heard, we did wonder, would it be enough? We thought that if
nothing else we could at least console ourselves that we had done everything
possible in order to help save Lower Cosmeston Farm.
After an innumerable amount of time, we heard
through a local resident that a number of people had come to inspect the
buildings at Lower Cosmeston Farm. One was heard to say, ‘this is a complete
waste of time’. This didn’t bode well and we concluded that this visit was
perhaps little more than a token sop. We were therefore sure that this visit would sound
the death-knell of Lower Cosmeston Farm. We prepared ourselves for the worst.
We were therefore very surprised to learn that some time after the first group had visited a second delegation came to visit,
who this time seemed to be far more enthusiastic and positive about the
buildings. The group stayed for a good number of hours exploring the environs while
their leader enthusiastically explained to the group the architectural history
of the buildings.
Yet, despite this auspicious portent we were
still cynical and once-again, prepared ourselves for the worst.
After a number of months, we received a very
pleasant surprise in the form of an email from a member of CADW stating that
they had decided to grant Lower Cosmeston Farm listed status as a Grade II
building. We were overjoyed, as were the Keep Cosmeston Green group and
everyone else who had helped to campaign and who had waited with bated breath
and hoped for the best.
Another pleasant surprise came in that CADW’s
assessment ascertained that the farmhouse was significantly older than
previously thought with the oldest part being sixteenth century (1500’s) in
date.
CADW have stated in regard to the history of Lower Cosmeston farmhouse:
'Multi-period house, nucleus of a single-unit house built C17 or C16, either originally end-entry or with lateral chimney and later truncated (evidence for precise arrangements not visible). This was later extended in the C17 against the fireplace with a longer direct entry range with gable fireplace and stair creating a 2-unit plan with gable and ridge stacks and the older part becoming a parlour to the new hall. Further range added in C18/C19 and the whole later converted c1890 into animal use (stabling, cow-house) with complete re-facing / rebuilding of the main S wall and single storey extension added on this side. This conversion would have been at the point a new farmhouse was constructed to the N, downgrading the early house into farm use. Reroofed in corrugated tin in C20.'
CADW’S reasons for designation are:
'Included for its special architectural and historic interest as a rare surviving pre-1700 farmhouse with its form and layout largely legible, retaining clear evidence of its early origins (with surviving features) and its development in the C17.'
CADW must be commended for their decision to grant Lower Cosmeston farmhouse and its outbuildings listed status, without which, they would have by now been demolished and the Lower Cosmeston farm development well underway.
The
farmhouse and barns may be saved, but the fight to save Lower Cosmeston Farm’s
overall fate has still yet to be determined.
Read about Lower Cosmeston Farm on Cadw’s website
https://cadw.gov.wales/about-us/news/new-listed-buildings-original-house-lower-cosmeston-farm
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