Historic building recording at Fairfields Farm, Mowden Hall Lane, Hatfield Peverel, Essex CM3 2NT

The aim of the building recording was to provide a detailed record and assessment of the buildings prior to demolition. The building recording was carried out to Level 3 (Historic England 2016) which is defined as: "Level 3 is an analytical record and will comprise an introductory description followed by a systematic account of the building's origins, development and use. The record will include an account of the evidence on which the analysis has been based, allowing the validity of the record to be re-examined in detail. It will also include all drawn and photographic records that may be required to illustrate the building's appearance and structure and to support an historical analysis. The information contained in the record will for the most part have been obtained through an examination of the building itself. The documentary sources used are likely to be those which are most readily accessible, such as historic Ordnance Survey maps, trade directories and other published sources. The record may contain some discussion the building's broader stylistic or historical context and importance. It may form part of a wider survey of a number of buildings which will aim at an overall synthesis, such as a thematic or regional publication, when the use of additional source material may be necessary as well as a broader historical and architectural discussion of the buildings as a group." In particular, the record considered: " Plan and form of the site. " Materials and method of construction. " Date(s) of the structures. " Original function and internal layout. " Fixtures and fittings. " Original and later phasing, additions and their effect on the internal/ external fabric and the level of survival of original fabric. " An account of the past and present uses of the buildings. A programme of historic building recording was carried out by Colchester Archaeological Trust at Fairfields Farm, Mowden Hall Lane, Hatfield Peverel, Essex on the 6th of February 2025. The structures recorded in this report comprise two threshing barns with a number of outbuildings, (henceforth, threshing barn A and B, linking shed, brick shed and stable), the oldest of which is the five-bay threshing barn B. The combination of pegged studs, a technique which faded in the 17th century, with through-bracing, a technique which emerged around the same time, suggest an origin in the latter 17th century. The earliest cartographic evidence of buildings at Fairfields Farm is the 1777 Champman & André. The lack of detail in the map makes it difficult to state with any certainty which buildings are present, but it is plausible to suggest that part of threshing barn B is represented. Cartographic evidence indicates that throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the structures at Fairfields Farm were repeatedly altered, rebuilt (built) or extended. This is indicative of a working farmstead that was expanding and shrinking to keep up with changing demands of the farming industry.