Dendrochronology Project
Wiltshire Buildings Record began the Wiltshire Dendrochronology Project in 2009 in co-operation with Historic England (English Heritage). This was funded under the Historic Environment Enabling Programme.
Dendrochronology, the scientific study of tree-ring growth, is very useful as it can provide a felling date for surviving beams and roof trusses. This tree-ring analysis can accurately determine the date of part or all of a building, helping to interpret the historical development of the site as a whole.
Phase 1 of the project determined the felling dates of oak timbers in eleven very early buildings, the earliest one being from the start of the 14th century. The outcome exceeded expectations and helped us to better understand the chronology of Wiltshire’s archaic buildings including cruck and base crucks. The results were published by Avis Lloyd, then Project Manager, in Vernacular Architecture vol. 44 (2013).
Phase 2 ran from 2014 to 2016 with the help of a grant from the Vernacular Architecture Group. Ten buildings were sampled including two which were paid for by the owners and two with part payment by the owners. The results produced date ranges from as early as 1252. One of the buildings was the National Trust’s Great Barn in East Street, Lacock which is open to the public. The cruck timbers forming the skeleton of this building were found to be felled in 1338-9.
Phase 3 began in 2017 funded by a grant from the Pilgrim Trust. The first site we tackled was Great Chalfield Manor. Tree-ring dating showed the roof of the hall was constructed in 1463-8 and that the timbers of the panelled ceiling below were contemporary. This makes it the earliest known moulded plaster ceiling in England. One cruck surviving in the 18th century barn dated to 1340-65. Several interesting Salisbury dates were also obtained. The Old George Inn in the High Street was shown to have a crown-post roof in the two front ranges and a hammer beam roof in the back chamber both from between 1366 and 71. Two other hammer beam roofs were Balles Place, Winchester Street, 1308-33 and 9 Queen Street of about 1310. The former was from a timber retrieved during the demolition in 1962. Two buildings sampled at Atworth were the cruck barn at Church Farm, dated 1326, with conversion of one end to a dwelling in about 1588-1613 and Poplar Farm. This was owned by Thomas Tropenell through his wife before he moved to Great Chalfield. It was older than that and dated to between 1340 and 1365.
Phase 4 began in 2019 with a grant from Warminster Civic Society for buildings there. Two buildings dated from the early 16th century, 44-5 Silver Street 1512/13 and 1a Chinn’s Court late 1520s. 34 Vicarage Street was a late jettied building dated in or about 1652. We then got a grant from the Chalke Valley History Trust. We used it to date five phases of Westwood Manor. A cruck embedded in a wing of 1522-47 dated to 1411-36. The main range was 1513-38 with an added plaster ceiling of 1522-47, the long west wing turned out to be of 1478. This was expected from fieldwork but differed from existing accounts of the building.
In May 2021 we were awarded a grant by the Vernacular Architecture Group. It enabled sampling at four buildings. The first was Hazeldon Old Manor, Tisbury. This is a cruck building, later cased in stone but the oak was from trees grown too fast to provide sufficient rings for dating. However, the parlour beam, a secondary phase, dated from a felling between 1570 and 1595. The roof is one of the few to have original smoke-blackened thatch. The second sampling took place at Studley Grange, Lydiard Tregoze. This was a grange of Stanley Abbey, Bremhill and was first recorded in 1460. Its lands were taken for a landfill site. Unfortunately, it was a similar case to Hazeldon Old Manor with crucks made of fast-grown oak. However, a dairy wing dated exactly to 1606 and a re-used collar was felled between 1559 and 1584.
The third sampling was more successful. It was of Garsdon Manor, Lea and Cleverton, a grange of Malmesbury Abbey. The base cruck roof with crown posts of the chamber block dated to 1361-78 with a few timbers from 1315-39. The funds left over were added to some WBR funds to sample a former farmhouse, 41 Green Road, Stratton St. Margaret. The lower parts of two cruck trusses dated from between 1271 and 1296. They had been extended at the top by timbers of between 1339 and 1355, probably to make a wider building, a very interesting result.
Phase 5 began in 2023 with a further grant from the VAG. This was used first at Fowlswick Farm, Allington, Chippenham Without. The base crucks gave an early date of 1275-85, timbers associated with a smoke hood 1484-1509, work on the crosswing 1604-29 and an extended collar 1679. Secondly, at Rudloe Manor, Box the cruck barn was dated to 1405-30 and the solar which has cusped windbraces to 1370-95. Finally, we were very successful at Manor Farm, Sutton Benger where crucks in the main range dated exactly to winter 1292/3 and a coupled rafter roof in the north wing gave the same date.
In 2025 a further phase was funded by a grant from the VAG, to add interest and value to the VAG Spring conference held April/May 2025. The conference, arranged and hosted by WBR, was based in Salisbury and spent an entire day visiting buildings in the city, and two more days focussing on the Nadder valley and the Wylye valley and the Deverills. From the shortlist four buildings were found to be suitable for dendro:
Timber Cottage, Crockerton, a timber-framed house with smoke-blackened hurdle roof, dated to 1503-1528, and samples from an inserted first-floor window from 1533-1558. This is in line with other timber-framed buildings in Warminster, such as 44-45 Silver Street (1512-13). Link to dendro report.
52-54 High Street, Salisbury (Prezzo) has massive timber framing and scissor-braced roof trusses. The sampled timbers were found to have a felling date of 1362-63. This was particularly interesting because it is close in date to the nearby Old George Inn (front range 1366-17, northeast chamber 1356-81). Link to dendro report.
Oriel Cottage, Avon View, 91 Castle Street, Salisbury is part of a range of timber-framed buildings, and has a complicated plan, the front rebuilt in the 18th century. A tie-beam from the rear range known as Oriel Cottage, and a principal rafter to the set-back range dated to between 1456 and 1475. A first-floor floorboard was most likely felled after 1602. Link to dendro report.
The Odeon Cinema, New Canal, Salisbury is an exceptional building of several phases. Regretfully it was not possible to access the timbers of the open hall, but two datable samples from the room to the north (currently the front foyer) achieved a felling date of 1459. Another Salisbury building with a similar date is 60 St Ann Street (north/south range 1448, east/west range 1466, rear range 1473). Link to dendro report.
We welcome approaches from owners offering to pay for the dating of their buildings. We can arrange sampling and interpret the results for you. We have had just a few disappointments during the project when medieval timbers have turned out to be elm or coppiced oak with ring widths which differ from the master sequence when scientifically measured. Timbers need to be oak, and of a good size. This is more likely in buildings dating from the 16th century or earlier. Costs can be surprisingly inexpensive. Please contact us for further details.
Pam Slocombe
WBR Dendrochronology Project Manager