Parkhouse Farmhouse, Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria. Watching Brief.

Oxford Archaeology North (OAN) was commissioned to carry out an archaeological watching brief during renovations to a fireplace in Parkhouse Farm, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria (SD 3223 4710). The fireplace was to be returned to its original size, which necessitated the removal of several phases of later blocking. Parkhouse Farmhouse is a GradeII* listed building, dating from the sixteenth century, and as such a watching brief was considered necessary during the demolition stage of the renovation.
The watching brief, undertaken in 2002, revealed three main phases of alterations to the fireplace, which had apparantly remained in use for the last 400 years. The original fireplace would have been a large open hearth, with a stone arch. This was subsequently blocked and made into an inglenook-style fireplace, with a new arrangement of flues, which led to the abandonment and partial demolition of the original chimney. This fireplace was a more complex arrangement with a large oven to one side, a possible spice oven, and a smaller oven built into an adjoining wall. At a later date this arrangement was also abandoned and a cast iron range was inserted on the left side of the fireplace. The ovens were blocked, possibly at the same time, and so the fireplace remained until the present day.