Mary Arden'S House And Attached Dairy

Mary Arden's House and Attached Dairy

This is a farmhouse with attached dairy, located on the east side of Aston Cantlow Road in Wilmcote. The main structure dates to the early 16th century and was substantially altered and refaced in the 19th century, while the dairy adjoining the cross-wing dates to the mid-17th century.

The farmhouse was originally timber-framed with wattle and daub and brick infill. The underbuilding and refacing were carried out almost entirely in 19th-century brick, though most of the cross-wing and dairy retain their original construction of regularly coursed lias rubble with some timber framing surviving to the upper level of the former. Plain tile roofs cover the building.

The plan comprises a three-bay hall range aligned east-west with a slightly later two-bay cross-wing projecting to the north at the west end. The hall range originally contained a chamber bay, open hall bay and service bay. The cross-wing originally housed a kitchen open to the roof. A chamber was added over the service bay in the mid-17th century, along with a large chimney inserted into part of the former hall. At about the same time, the stone dairy was added to the north end of the cross-wing. The house underwent little subsequent alteration until the mid-19th century, when an upper floor was inserted in the kitchen range and a lean-to dairy was probably added to the hall range.

On the south side, the cross-wing presents a blind gable to the left. The main range has a late 20th-century plank door to the left and late 20th-century leaded casements to left and right of centre, the latter with a segmental head. Gabled eaves dormers with leaded casements appear to left and right of a prominent axial ridge stack with corbelled capping. All casements are two-light except the lower left, which is three-light. The cross-wing displays exposed square timber framing to the upper floor on its west side. The ground floor has two late 20th-century single-light leaded casements and a plank door, while the first floor has three late 20th-century two-light leaded casements. An exposed queen-post truss is visible at the north gable end.

The north side of the main range features two gabled eaves dormers, a late 20th-century leaded casement to the centre and a plank door to the right, with the lean-to dairy addition to the left of centre. The stone dairy attached to the north gable end of the cross-wing has a half-hipped roof and late 20th-century leaded casements. External stone steps on the east side lead to a plank door with a gable breaking the eaves.

Internally, the hall range retains a beam marking the position of a former partition to the right of the south door. A late 20th-century replica of a Victorian cast-iron range occupies the fireplace, and a stone flag floor survives. The kitchen has a 20th-century stone flag floor and a partly reconstructed wash boiler beside the fireplace. Plank doors appear throughout. Stone shelves are present in the lean-to dairy. Wide floorboards and exposed wall framing survive in both ranges.

The hall range features an exposed clasped-purlin queen-post roof in three bays with curved windbraces and braces to the tie beams. Evidence of smoke blackening and a smoke louvre are visible. The cross-wing has an identical roof in two bays, also showing smoke blackening.

Dendrochronological dating shows the hall range was built around 1514, with the cross-wing added very shortly afterwards. Recent research has identified this as the house referred to in 1587 as previously occupied by Agnes Arden, widow. Agnes and her husband Robert Arden, who died in 1556, were the father and stepmother of Mary Arden. It was therefore at this farm that Mary Arden lived until her marriage to John Shakespeare in 1557, when she moved to Stratford.