Building record MLI96548 - The Nunnery, Sixhills

Summary

A 15th century timber framed house, with reused 12th century timbers and limestone walls.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

A 15th century house, wrongly shown as Lincoln Lane Farm on Ordnance Survey map. It has 17th century flooring in the open hall and underwent alterations in the 18th and 20th centuries. The house has a timber frame which is encased in coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and some brick dressings. The roof is of pantile and has two brick ridge stacks. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {1} The Nunnery has evidence of a C15 timber-framed open hall, with C17 and later remodelling. {2} A programme of historic building recording was conducted at Lincoln Lane Farmhouse, also known as 'The Nunnery', Sixhills, as part of a joint research project by the Hainton Heritage Group and the Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology's Building Recording Group (RUBL). The project found that, originally thought to be a late 17th century farmhouse, the building was instead discovered to be a converted mid-16th century timber-framed hall house with reused 12th century timbers and limestone likely recovered from the nearby Sixhills Priory site (see MLI50258). Five main phases of building were identified at the farmhouse: 1- Initial Construction (1530/55). During this period, the building was an atypical ‘hall house’ in style, with two high status chambers at either end of the central hall. This is the first building in Lincolnshire to be confirmed to belong to this category. It is suggested to have been built at this time for James Wallis, the last prior of Sixhills Priory, and his sister Isobel. This would provide an explaination for the two separate living areas; it is assumed that the service areas were displaced to since-demolished outbuildings. 1b- Heating of the North parlour (1603/1625-1660?). A chimney was added to the south end of the North parlour to provide heating. 2a- Reconstruction Period 1 (1660-1692). The open hall was enclosed in this period, with a floor inserted at first floor. A kitchen and cellar were provided in the first outshot, and the timber frame was encased in the reused limestone rubble. Gables were also added to the previously hipped roof at this time, along with two new brick chimney stacks with stairs wrapping around. 2b- Reconstruction Period 2 (1692-1700). This period of reconstruction is defined by the conversion to a more modern ‘farmhouse’. Attic rooms were added by lowering the ceilings of first floor rooms, and the floor of the first floor southern chamber was reinforced, possibly to allow for the storage of farm goods such as wool. 3- High status farmhouse period (1700-1871/81). Few changes were made during this period. 4- Division into three cottages (1871/81-mid 20th century). The building was extended to the north and a second single storey extension added on the western elevation, with a brick fireplace and covered well pointing to its purpose as a kitchen. A third extension also appears to have been built around this time but was demolished prior to 1972, and its use remains unknown. 5- Modern tenancy (Mid 20th century to date). Some modernisation of the fixtures and fittings, but no structural changes. {3}{4} As part of this project, dendrochronological analysis of a group of 20 timbers used as first floor joists in the farmhouse was conducted. The timbers were found to date to the mid-12th century and to have been cut from the heartwood of mature, straight-grown trees. The carefully prepared faces suggest that the timbers were intended to be seen, almost certainly in a high-status building. Their exact original use is, however, uncertain. {5} X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis was also undertaken on the reused joists, to determine whether they were as suggested originally cut as sarking boards used in the roof of the Priory building. The analysis found no evidence to support this hypothesis. {6}

Sources/Archives (6)

  •  Index: Department of the Environment. 1985. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 3/31.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.643.
  •  Report: Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. 2019. Building Recording at Lincoln Lane Farmhouse, Sixhills. -.
  •  Article in Serial: Naomi Field, Ken Hollamby, Jenne Pape and David Stocker. 1987. 'Dissolution and Reconstruction: Lincoln Lane Farmhouse, Sixhills, Lincolnshire, The Afterlife of Sixhills Priory and Its People' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.52, pp.11-58.
  •  Article in Serial: Mark Gardiner. 2021. 'Twelfth-Century Timbers From Sixhills, Lincolnshire, and a Review of Medieval Stave Construction in England' in Vernacular Architecture. pp.30-40.
  •  Unpublished Document: Richard Croft, Paul Croft, Michael Cowling and David Pape. Lincoln Lane Farmhouse, Sixhills, Lincolnshire: A Novel Investigative Methodology. -.

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred TF 1700 8703 (12m by 20m)
Civil Parish SIXHILLS, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (1)

External Links (0)

Record last edited

Jul 29 2024 10:31AM

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