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BUILDINGS

In spite of the increasing interest shown in vernacular architecture over the past twenty years, there are areas of England that have scarcely been investigated and Burbage lies in one of them. The information which can be gained from such a study has been expounded by Brunskill (1971:18-9) and the fact which emerges is that although the conclusions generally have bearing within a localized region, it is not enough just to study a few buildings in the hope of emerging with theories about social organisation, local tradition etc. Therefore this examination of a few buildings in Burbage is recognized as being grossly inadequate for anything more than recording structures that may in time be irrevocably altered or destroyed. It is hoped to continue the process of recording the buildings of the village at a later date.

Burbage lies in a region where the chief building form is timber-frame construction with wattle and daub or brick in-fill, or earth walls made from the local greensand (Fig. 1). The thatching material is attached to a substructure of pole rafters interlaced in this example with wattle although lathes are a more common alternative. The chalk blocks at the wall head probably acted as a damp course. As in many houses of the village the back roof-line has been lifted so that it no longer sweeps down to about two feet above ground level without any windows but is raised so that it can incorporate an outshut.

The nature of the building material is such that it lacks durability and there are no buildings in the village that appear on first inspection to be earlier than the 16th century although dating itself is problematical. No structure in the village could be termed the "manor-house" - Manor Farm has a 19th century exterior although inside it contains heavy oaken beams suggesting that there is an earlier structure concealed. A possible explanation for the lack of a manor-house could be that the Esturmey family and its successors who held the village up until 1951 when it was sold to the Crown, lived nearby at Wolfhall and later Tottenham House, and there was no need for a building of such status in the village.

The only stone building in the village is the church which was to all intents and purposes rebuilt in 1853. The only surviving portion is the tower (Fig. 2) which was built in 1450 and the difference between the two portions can be seen both in the fabric and the foundations. The fabric of the tower is basically sandstone with a small amount of flint infill whereas the main body of the church, constructed out of the old building material, is flint interspersed with very small blocks of sandstone. The foundations of the tower (Plate 9) are sarsen stones whereas the body of the church rests on regular blocks. Nevertheless, pre-1853 accounts survive which give some idea of what the church looked like before rebuilding (Adams 1905:132ff.). According to the 17th century account of John Aubrey, there was "in the church nihil antiquities save the windows". As now the church consisted of the nave, north and south aisles, a south porch, chancel, tower and in addition a north transept and a modern vestry on the south side of the chancel. The north and south windows of the chancel were described as being "beautiful Middle Pointed (1399-1413) examples with remnants of good stained-glass". On the south side were to be found a much mutilated sedilia and piscine. The author considered the nave, arches and tower to have been rebuilt at the same time. Nothing of this apart from the tower remains.

As was previously mentioned there is documentary evidence for the existence of a church in Burbage from the time of Domesday. It was part of the original endowment of the Cathedral of Old Sarum and in 1115, by a charter of Henry I, it became a Prebend with Hurstbourne Tarrent. In 1200 it was dedicated to All Saints and in 1230 it is mentioned in correspondence between Geoffrey Esturmi and the Rector of Burebach (S.C. 7/1) by which the former was granted the right to an oratory providing that the mother-church was used on all major occasions. The tower was built in 1450 and in the late Perpendicular style. It is larger north-south than east-west. On the north side is a stairway leading up to the belfry where the 17th century bells hang. There are two dedication marks on the tower buttresses (Plates 10 & 11) - on the north side a cross and on the south side a chalice and wafer. The tower has an embattled parapet and four crocketed pinnacles. 18th century initials are carved on the stones of the western entrance porch. The only other reference to the church is in the Overseers Accounts (A.D. 381) which mention that in 1702 a gallery with seating for 51 was erected. As mentioned earlier, the curious feature about the church site is that there are no grave-stones earlier than 1800 but perhaps that can be attributed to past re-building.

All the houses in Burbage were given an exterior examination and roughly dated. In general those of the 18th century are of brick construction with thatch roofs while those of the previous century are of timber construction with wattle and daub or later brick infill. Three houses were given a closer inspection, unfortunately not complete since access was not granted to study the roofs in two of them. All the timber-framing in the village is of the Western School, i.e. square panelling with some instances of widely spaced uprights. All but one of the buildings seem to be of a box-frame construction but there may be some concealed cruck-trusses.

HOUSE I (Plate 12 and Fig. 3) #26 Eastcourt

This house, dated 1669 by a plaque on the chimney, stands on a lane in Eastcourt running to the east of the church. In the 19th century it was a cooper's shop and old barn. It was built in at least three stages, the latest being the most southerly built entirely in brick. The middle section is formed of square timber panels resting on a timber-sill which in turn rests on a brick plinth. Next to this, standing at right-angles to the road, is the oldest portion of the building with the possible remains of a cruck-blade or middle cruck (Mercer R.C.H.M.:96). That the cruck did extend further is quite possible since the timbers and brick infill above appear modern. The house is now one and a half storeys but unfortunately access to the roof was not possible to determine whether this had always been the case. All the other external features are shown in Figure 3.

HOUSE II (Fig. 4)

This house stands up on the bank above Burhstrete facing east. Again it is of box-frame construction with a mixture of square panels and widely-spaced uprights resting on a timber-sill supported by a brick plinth. The whole structure rests on the bare earth, there being no foundations. The infill is now brick but in places the wattle and daub remains, e.g. the space between the angle braces in Plate ? The house has been altered considerably in the past few years, until this century it comprised two cottages. It appears that there were at least two phases of building, the southern end being later and attached to the original two-chimney building. Alternatively it could have been built as one unit with a central fireplace. Again, examination of the interior which was not carried out would probably shed light on the problem.

HOUSE III (Fig. 5) #163 Westcourt

In spite of being the newest house of the three studied - it is 18th century - this is in many ways the most interesting partly because it was examined more closely and also because there is evidence for its past use. The house lies on the Westcourt road facing south and is part of a wider complex of farm-buildings. Although in the 19th century it became a farm-house, previously it was a malt-kiln. On the other side of the lane lie a contemporary cow-herder's house and a complex of later barns.

This house was built in three stages - the oldest portion being the western malt-house. If this end is examined, beneath the present thatched roof are the remnants of the structure to support the vent/cowl. In the neighbouring village, Great Bedwyn, there is a malt-house still standing with the cowl emerging from a continuous ridge-line whiuch is presumably the form that the Westcourt example took (Fig. 5). Although similar in appearance to Kentish oast-houses, it is more likely to have been a malt-kiln since Wiltshire was not a hop-growing area. In the 18th century there was a great development of barley cultivation in this region (Mathias 1959:392) which would account for the construction of such buildings. The malt was germinated and then removed from the cowled building into a section of the house, since demolished, wich ran for 16 metres along the lane.

The eastern section of the house was added at a later date, probably early 19th century, and presumably when the building changed function and became a farmhouse acquiring features such as a dairy. It would be interesting to examine in more detail this complex of farm buildings.

From such a brief examination of the buildings in Burbage, it is not possible to draw any conclusions other than that the techniques and material fit into the local context. It would be interesting to examine the techniques further, e.g. whether the timber-frames were pre-fabricated. Obviously much more work needs to be done before drawing such conclusions.

CONCLUSIONS

The conclusions relevant to each section of the evidence have been drawn at the end of the respective chapters. Therefore, the most important will be re-iterated here along with an assessment of the method and results of the study.

Burbage is a polyfocal village, its most noticeable feature being the linear extension of buildings along the road. Obviously the dating of this form is difficult but the distribution of buildings suggests that it was extant by the 17th century. As to past arrangements of the village - the only evidence for this lies in the footpath network, field pattern and site of the church and I have suggested that the nucleus of settlement lay around Eastcourt and the crossroads on Burhstrete. The shift of emphasis to the road implies the rise of the importance of this route and this may also explain the development of Stibb Green. Equally, the latter may have developed as the result of the taking in of new land from the forest as was probably the case within the parish viz. Ram Alley, Durley, Westcourt. Alternatively, the polyfocal nature of the settlement could be a reflection of an early pattern of scattered homesteads around which buildings later nucleated. This is plausible in light of the forest surroundings although the geology does not necessarily support the idea of the village site being wooded/waste in view of the very fertile nature of the soil. Whichever is the course of development, I would still maintain that Eastcourt is one of the oldest nuclei within the village.

The buildings and features of the village reflect the economy of the region, not only in their building materials but also in their function. The malt-house witnesses to the cultivation of barley; the three smithies on the main street indicate the importance of the road and traffic; the drove-roads in from the downs reveal the role of sheep. The lack of a "manor-house" or the obvious site of one within the village may reflect the relationship of Wolfhall and its inhabitants to the village. This relationship may also have a bearing on the lack of an eastern boundary in the late Saxon charter. As previously stated, the present parish boundaries seem to follow closely at least the western bounds of the charter which surely relates to the conception of the parish as an economic unit.

Since no two villages are alike, although they may have had similar origins and/or course of development, it is difficult to test the ideas resulting from an individual's interpretation of the evidence. Basically, this study is an interpretation - there is no concrete archaeological evidence but it is hoped that sufficient information has been presented to allow for alternative interpretations to be formulated or those given here to be modified since that is the only way by which progression in the understanding of the development of settlement forms will be achieved.

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