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Low Wray Farm, Low Wray, Claife
Low Wray can be considered to comprise two groups of buildings. The northern part of the hamlet (Buildings 1 to 7) is formed by the range of three cottages and the Bottom Barn, with associated buildings, which form a T-shape in plan. These include the earliest of the surviving buildings, believed to date from the eighteenth or possibly the seventeenth century. To the south of this group, Low Wray Farm includes two houses (one incorporating a self-contained flat), and numerous agricultural outbuildings, forming a courtyard which has been partly infilled, and including an outlying building (24) some 30m to the south of the main complex. Although all of these buildings appear to date from the 1840s re-modelling or later, there is some minor evidence to suggest that they incorporate parts of earlier buildings.
The buildings at Low Wray are all built predominantly of local materials, ie rubble walls and slate roofs. Many of the buildings are also given some decorative treatment, in the form of ball finials, barge boards, moulded purlin ends projecting below broad eaves, rough slate hood moulds, and in the case of Building 8, Gothic windows, although the surviving windows in this case are not believed to be in their original form. Such decoration is mainly, but not wholly confined to those parts of the farm erected during the remodelling of c. 1840, with earlier and subsequent buildings having a plainer and more functional appearance, in keeping with other buildings of their type in the region.
The development of Low Wray as a small hamlet has taken place over several centuries, with most of the present buildings being of the mid to late nineteenth century in date. The earliest buildings are located at the north end of the site, and probably comprised a three-celled farmhouse with adjoining downhouse and rear agricultural wing (Buildings 2, 4, 5, and part of 3). These are believed to be of early eighteenth or late seventeenth century date, but their character is now largely modern, due to subsequent alterations. A four bay barn (part of Building 1) was added to the agricultural wing, probably in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.
The acquisition of Low Wray by James Dawson led to the redevelopment in the 1840s of the south part of the hamlet as Wray Castle?s home farm, providing a new farmhouse, outbuilding, barns and shippons, as well as a stable block for the estate (Buildings 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 20). A distinctive architectural style was adopted, using rough hood moulds, broad eaves, Gothic windows and ball finials, while classical motifs were applied to the interior of the stables in Building 20. This rather eclectic approach is characteristic of the mid nineteenth century.
The new farm was to a certain extent planned along modern lines, in contrast to the more traditional farmsteads in the region, which tended to develop sporadically, in part attributable to their freehold or customary tenant status. Planned farmsteads were mostly a product of the larger estates, whose wealthy owners could afford the necessary investment, and who were more exposed to new ideas and fashions. The construction of the new farm buildings at Low Wray took place during the rise of High Farming (an approach based on maximising output through high inputs to a balanced, mixed system; Barnwell & Giles 1997, 6), although the Lake District was one part of the country least affected by it. While the buildings at Low Wray dating from the 1840s incorporate some features associated with the High Farming philosophy, particularly the provision of water power for fodder processing, they fall well short of comprising a model farmstead.
The additions to the farm in the second half of the nineteenth century appear to be associated with function rather than display, as the partial infilling of the farmyard by Buildings 16 to 18, and the construction of Buildings 10 and 22 did much to reduce the visual impact of the 1840s buildings. The provision of additional livestock housing may be attributed to the rapidly increasing demand for dairy products by growing urban centres, although Low Wray was situated at some distance from the rail network (the nearest lines being at Windermere and Lakeside).
The twentieth century saw only minor additions to the complex, with Buildings 7, 19 and 23 being the only significant new structures. Internal alterations were more widespread however, particularly in the stable block and shippons, where many of the original stalls have been replaced by concrete. The subdivision of the farmhouse into two separate dwellings has also taken place, with Building 8 being altered in the late 1990s to provide improved campsite facilities.
The buildings at Low Wray are all built predominantly of local materials, ie rubble walls and slate roofs. Many of the buildings are also given some decorative treatment, in the form of ball finials, barge boards, moulded purlin ends projecting below broad eaves, rough slate hood moulds, and in the case of Building 8, Gothic windows, although the surviving windows in this case are not believed to be in their original form. Such decoration is mainly, but not wholly confined to those parts of the farm erected during the remodelling of c. 1840, with earlier and subsequent buildings having a plainer and more functional appearance, in keeping with other buildings of their type in the region.
The development of Low Wray as a small hamlet has taken place over several centuries, with most of the present buildings being of the mid to late nineteenth century in date. The earliest buildings are located at the north end of the site, and probably comprised a three-celled farmhouse with adjoining downhouse and rear agricultural wing (Buildings 2, 4, 5, and part of 3). These are believed to be of early eighteenth or late seventeenth century date, but their character is now largely modern, due to subsequent alterations. A four bay barn (part of Building 1) was added to the agricultural wing, probably in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.
The acquisition of Low Wray by James Dawson led to the redevelopment in the 1840s of the south part of the hamlet as Wray Castle?s home farm, providing a new farmhouse, outbuilding, barns and shippons, as well as a stable block for the estate (Buildings 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 20). A distinctive architectural style was adopted, using rough hood moulds, broad eaves, Gothic windows and ball finials, while classical motifs were applied to the interior of the stables in Building 20. This rather eclectic approach is characteristic of the mid nineteenth century.
The new farm was to a certain extent planned along modern lines, in contrast to the more traditional farmsteads in the region, which tended to develop sporadically, in part attributable to their freehold or customary tenant status. Planned farmsteads were mostly a product of the larger estates, whose wealthy owners could afford the necessary investment, and who were more exposed to new ideas and fashions. The construction of the new farm buildings at Low Wray took place during the rise of High Farming (an approach based on maximising output through high inputs to a balanced, mixed system; Barnwell & Giles 1997, 6), although the Lake District was one part of the country least affected by it. While the buildings at Low Wray dating from the 1840s incorporate some features associated with the High Farming philosophy, particularly the provision of water power for fodder processing, they fall well short of comprising a model farmstead.
The additions to the farm in the second half of the nineteenth century appear to be associated with function rather than display, as the partial infilling of the farmyard by Buildings 16 to 18, and the construction of Buildings 10 and 22 did much to reduce the visual impact of the 1840s buildings. The provision of additional livestock housing may be attributed to the rapidly increasing demand for dairy products by growing urban centres, although Low Wray was situated at some distance from the rail network (the nearest lines being at Windermere and Lakeside).
The twentieth century saw only minor additions to the complex, with Buildings 7, 19 and 23 being the only significant new structures. Internal alterations were more widespread however, particularly in the stable block and shippons, where many of the original stalls have been replaced by concrete. The subdivision of the farmhouse into two separate dwellings has also taken place, with Building 8 being altered in the late 1990s to provide improved campsite facilities.
Metadata
- ARIADNE ID
- 11467986
- Original ID
- 1760264
- Language
- English
- Resource type
- Sites and monuments databases or inventories
- Subject
- farms
- Original Subject
-
- FARM
- Dating
- Place
-
- England [-2.966915, 54.401714]
- Type
- Dataset
- Publisher
-
- Archaeology Data Service [Organization]
- Issued
- Modified
Responsible persons and organisations
- Contributor
-
- National Trust [Organization]
- Getty AAT Subjects
-
- agricultural complexes en
- farms en
- boerderijen nl
- granjas es
- granja es
- complexes, farm en
- farmsteads en
- farm complexes en
- boerderij nl
- farm en
- hoeven nl
- Identifier
- http://registry.ariadne-infrastructure.eu/dataset/11467986
- Package ID
- 3025
- Provider ID
- 1104
License information
- Access Rights
- ADS Terms and Conditions
- Access Policy
- http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/advice/termsOfUseAndAccess
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