HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY
BEAUVALE HOUSE 16 MARKET PLACE
SUMMARY
Trent & Peak Archaeology was commissioned by Bingham Heritage Trails Association in 2012 to survey Beauvale House, No. 17 Market Place, a two-storey building with garrets on the north side of Market Place in the centre of Bingham. It is Grade II listed and gives the outward appearance of dating from the 18th century. This survey report is produced in association with a separate dendrochronological report by Nottingham Tree-Ring Dating Laboratory.
The building is brick-built with slates on its roof. It is L-shaped with a corner unit containing back-stairs at the north-west corner, and a modern single-storey northern kitchen extension that has replaced an earlier extension. It has three sizeable rooms on each of its three levels and is served by both front and backstairs, both of which lead off hallways. Toilet/utility rooms separate the two stair units. There is a small 2-room cellar under the centre of the building. Although the building has much exposed timberwork, especially at first floor level, it has very few dateable fittings and no original fireplaces remain. The upper roof is inaccessible and is probably not original.
The building is likely to have been standing in 1776 although the estate survey of that year fails to show it on plan, for reasons that remain unclear. Most of the present building is, however, shown clearly on the detailed tithe plan of 1840. This plan shows extensive gardens around the building, a farmstead to the north-west and pastureland to the north. In 1776 Beauvale House had been the likely farmhouse of Thomas Pacey and in 1840 it was occupied by farmer William Pacey. It remained in use as a farmhouse by the Pacey and then the Strong families up to at least the early 20th century. Today it is a private residence; how and when it acquired its present name is not known.
The building has an unusually thick east wall which may retain footings or wall structure from an earlier building, possibly of 16th century date, or earlier. (We believe this to be the original de Bingham family Manor House, revealed in the test pits exercise) This may still show as the two-room east wing with a central stack and a possible former but now lost entrance through the east and main frontage wall (as hinted at by an entrance shown on the 1840 map). A timber from this part of the building has dated to 1574-99 and may have been reused from this original part of the building.
Another timber from the west wing has dated to 1719 and a third timber from the room below may be of similar date. The brickwork showing on most of the building (and within the cellar) may match this area of date. It seems probable that the existing building was rebuilt in brick and enlarged with a lower and narrower west service wing at about this time. It was a working farmhouse with few embellishments.
In the early-mid 19th century the building was remodeled and reorientated to face south towards Market Place. This was probably in anticipation of, or in response to the sale of the east garden for building plots. The south wall was rebuilt and the interior reorganized with living rooms and a new main staircase behind the south frontage and rooms to the rear the service part and servants’ quarters. The upper brickwork and roofing was rebuilt and the north-west corner part fully rebuilt.
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report
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report