Bourbles Farm Barn, Preesall, Lancashire. Archaeological Building Investigation.

An archaeological building investigation was undertaken in July 2003 of Bourbles Farm Barn, Preesall, Lancashire (SD 37852 47723) by Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) following a request by Mr O’Connor who had proposed the redevelopment of the building for domestic use. Lancashire County Archaeology Service (LCAS) had requested that the investigation be carried out prior to any development taking place due to the historic significance of the barn.
The barn, a substantial red brick building, was constructed in the 1880s and was first recorded on an Ordnance Survey map of 1895. This map showed that the barn was originally part of an enclosed farmstead, with three buildings arranged around a farmyard, and the farmhouse on the fourth side.
This late date for the construction of the barn is associated with the reclamation of mossland, which opened up a new area of fertile land. The large barn was part of a new farmstead built to exploit this area, which was suited to arable farming, and the barn would have been principally devoted to the storing and processing of crops. It is likely that horses were kept on the farm for labour, and a few cattle for manure to fertilise the pasture. These would have been kept either in the eastern area of the barn, under the hay loft, or in one of the narrower buildings located either side of the barn.