Abbotsford Estate, Kitchen Garden Pavilion and Furnace House, Historic Building Record

The upstanding structures - the pavilion, the adjacent section of the garden wall behind, and the furnace-house to the rear - were hand-drawn at a scale of 1:20, measuring from a horizontal datum. General photography was undertaken around the buildings using a camera mounted on to a 6m extendable pole, this was to allow digital modelling and generation of photogrammetrically rectified elevations and plans of the roof structure of the pavilion to be produced. A general review of the superstructure's timberwork was also completed so as to identify the extent of survival of original / early fabric. Addyman Archaeology undertook a programme of documentary research, historic building recording and archaeological evaluation in advance of and to inform a planned scheme of repairs to the Abbotsford kitchen garden pavilion. The investigative work forms part of a wider project to restore the gardens. A series of trenches were excavated to investigate sub-floor features, heating systems and features of the garden wall. A detailed analytical survey was completed of the pavilion, the adjacent section of garden wall and of the furnace-house to the rear. This involved drawn survey, the generation of rectified photographic records from digitally modelled imagery, and the layering-on of analytical information, phasing and other significant details. Evaluation involved the excavation of six trenches, three within the pavilion, one to its north exterior, and two against the kitchen garden wall. The parts of the pavilion's original heating system were revealed and assessed; this a brick built horizontal flue system running around the interior wall foot. This system ran into the walled garden wall and was integral to a heated mural system fed from within a purpose-built sunken-floored furnace house to the rear of the wall. The two trenches set against the kitchen garden's north-east wall were targeted so as to assess an arched feature visible at the wall base to the south-east of the pavilion and a similar blocked feature to the north-west. While more of each feature was revealed their functional purpose remained unclear. In line with the recommendations made in the initial report further excavation and recording was undertaken in November 2020. The floor of the furnace house was excavated to reveal the original cobbled surface and the substantial brick-built foundations for the furnace. Additional small trenches excavated within the pavilion to either side of the entrance confirmed that the flue system dipped down under the entrance and continued rising to the chimney within the garden wall. Further recording was also undertaken of the north elevation of the garden wall. An endoscope provided images of the brick flue system within the wall.