Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory - CHANNEL ISLANDS
GUERNSEY
ST MARTINS, Saints Farm, Icart Road, Reconstructed roof
Felling dates: Spring 1623??
King posts 1622 (23¼C; 24¼C); Braces (1/2) 1620 (22). Site Master 1447-1622 SAINTFM2 (t=7.1 BRIT3; 5.4 REF3; 5.2 LPJMEAN)
Saint’s Farm, St Martins, Guernsey, includes the earliest fragment of a medieval hall remaining on the Island, and was the seat of Le Fief Fortescue. The earliest remains is a cellar or undercroft, probably dating to the twelfth or thirteenth century. Above this is a parlour, open hall, and three-bayed open chamber above the parlour and cross-passage, probably dating to 1450-1475. This was later extended in about 1500 by a chamber wing at the back of the hall, with a service room below. In about 1580 the hall was floored over and new windows were inserted. Early in the seventeenth century the parlour and chamber gable end was rebuilt, the chamber was subdivided by panelling, and the roof rebuilt has been dated through dendrochronology of some of the re-used roof timbers from this phase. In 1684 the stair tourelle was demolished and various internal alterations including ornamental plasterwork on the chamber fireplace which included the Royal Arms, ‘DIEU ET MON DROIT’ and the date ‘1684’. In about 1920 fire destroyed the roof of the main house, but timbers from the 1622 roof survived re-used as lintels in a cross-wall lower down. This roof included a tiebeam with high collar which supported a king post with lateral braces to a ridge purlin. The chronology produced matched best with Brittany, but whether this or a more local origin for the timber is not certain. Two other chronologies were produced, but these failed to date. The dating was arranged by John McCormack on behalf of the owners, Mr and Mrs Henderson and La Société Guernesiaise. (Miles and Worthington 1997, VA 28, list 82)
(Miles and Worthington 1997, VA 28, list 82)
JERSEY
ST HELIER, Chestnut Farm, La Grande Route de Mont a L’Abbé (west end)
Felling dates: Summer 1565
Joists (3/10) 1565(21½C), 1553(16), 1540(12); Transverse beams (0/5). Site Master 1448-1565 cfj911(t = 5.0 SAINTFM2; 5.0 GOSFIELD; 4.3 MARINAL)
This is a long, low farmhouse in three sections, the middle part rebuilt. The eastern end is thought to be the oldest part, but samples failed to date. Most of those from the west end also failed to match, but three scratch-moulded joists gave a felling date of 1565. (Miles, Worthington, and Bridge 2004, VA 35, list 152)
(Miles, Worthington, and Bridge 2004, VA 35, list 152)
ST LAWRENCE, Hamptonne, inserted floor
Felling date range: 1506-1536
Transverse beams (1/3) 1506(10). Site Master 1384-1506 hamp3 (t = 5.4 SUBBRIT; 5.0 SENGLAND; 4.1 OISE9; 4.1 LPJMEAN)
A major programme of archaeological investigation has been carried out on the traditional farm complex at Hamptonne (now a Country Life Museum). The property is first mentioned in 1445, and the principal house - a modest vernacular building - dates from the fifteenth century and was initially an open hall with a chamber at the east end. An upper floor was inserted into the hall and the house re-fronted in the sixteenth century, one of whose beams has given a date. Notes by Dr Warwick Rodwell; funded by the Société Jersiaise. A sapwood range of 10-40 years has been used for this site. (Miles and Worthington 2003, VA 34, list 140)
(Miles and Worthington 2003, VA 34, list 140)
ST LAWRENCE, Seaview, Phase 2 ceiling
Felling date range: After 1563
Barrel staves reused as ceiling boards 1543; 1550; 1551; 1553. Site Master 1453-1553 SEAVIEW1 (t=6.9 LPJMEAN; 4.9 BRIT3; 3.7 NFRANCE)
Seaview, St Lawrence, Jersey, consists of a range of early farm buildings set behind a nineteenth century farmhouse. Cores were taken from the earliest of the farm buildings, which also exhibits signs of nineteenth century work. As it stands, the two-storey, three-bay, irregular facade boasts a traditional ‘Jersey’ ninestone double-voussoired arch. To the rear there is a round tourelle (a tower enclosing a staircase) linking the two storeys. There is a nineteenth century brick chimney built on to the east gable which has a sundial with an inscribed date of 1674. Core samples from the ground-floor ceiling joists produced a chronology, but it failed to date. The first floor ceiling comprised of conventional joists overlain with hundreds of re-used barrel staves and ends. Four of these matched together and dated against a French chronology, giving a felling date sometime after 1563. Three other groupings of barrel staves were found to match, but given the obvious problem of provenance, it is not surprising these failed to date.
(Miles and Worthington 1997, VA 28, list 82)
ST JOHN, Le Marinel, South Range
Felling dates: Spring 1675
Joists (3/7) 1674 (29¼C); 1638 (H/S); 1563; Ex situ beam 0/1. Site Master 1489-1674 MARINEL1 (t=5.1 SAINTFM2; 5.1 BRIT3; 4.4 SENGLAND)
Le Marinel, St John, Jersey, boasts an exceptional range of domestic farm buildings. In 1870 the occupiers of Le Marinel moved from their original farm buildings into a new and grand, granite ashlar-faced house built just to the North of their former home. Since 1870, the property has remained unaltered - from the cider press and apple crusher in the west range to the pump with trough and bread oven in the east range, as well as 18th century wallpaper hanging in the timber panelled upper rooms of the south range. The range of granite buildings form a horseshoe around a courtyard open to the north. The west facade has a ninestone, double-voussoired arch with ‘1619’ inscribed on the shoulder stone. To the south there is a rare example of an early timber-mullioned window on the ground floor, while on the first floor there are three window openings with accoladed lintels. The date 1795 appears on one window lintel, while the slate sundial has a date of 1765 inscribed. Cores were taken from the eastern half of the south range, one giving a precise date of 1675. As at Seaview above, other cores with reasonable numbers of rings failed to match conclusively either each other or any reference chronologies from England, France, or the Baltic, suggesting diverse sourcing.
(Miles and Worthington 1997, VA 28, list 82)
Oxford
Tree-Ring
Laboratory
The Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory provides cutting-edge commercial dendrochronological services to homeowners, architectural historians, and cultural resource managers. READ MORE
Contact Information
Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory
ProprietorsMichael Worthington
Jane Seiter, Ph.D
25 E. Montgomery St.
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-929-1520