Church View Barn Denchworth

Watching brief
Oxford Archaeology was commissioned to carry out a watching brief at Church View Barn
during the excavation of the foundations for the construction of a single storey dwelling
on a similar footprint to the barn demolished following Historic Building Investigation and
Recording by Oxford Archaeology.
The site's proximity to the churchyard and the potential for buried archaeology required
archaeological monitoring of the excavation of the foundations and any reduction in
ground level.
The recently demolished Church View Barn appeared on the earliest available map of
1801. Although the structure had undergone several phases of repair and modification,
the footprint had not altered.
The demolition of the building and clearance of the modern concrete floor revealed that
the building had had little or no foundations. The excavation of the new foundation
trenches revealed the levelling layers across the site and features which pre-dated the
barn. A un-dated pit in the south western corner of the site underlay the barn, public
footpath and the made-up ground of the churchyard.
No finds pre-dating the mid 20th-century layers, nor any features relating to the burials in
the adjacent churchyard were discovered.
Building Survey
Oxford Archaeology was commissioned to record Church View Barn ahead of the proposed
demolition of the barn and replacement with a single storey dwelling on a similar footprint.
Church View Barn appears on the earliest available map of 1801 and retains the same footprint
until the present day. Alterations and repairs to the brick and limestone structure occur regularly,
particularly in the 20th century; the latest phase of use as offices and a store ended recently and the
building is disused.
Although the barn is not listed, its setting within the conservation area and proximity to the Church
and several listed buildings of importance in the village setting requires the recording of both the
building and its context within the village before it is replaced.