History
It has been established that the property was once known as Bradings, by using the evidence of the Kelly’s directory,
and by using oral history from a previous tenant, who remembers that it was once known as Bradings farm.
By using the earliest name of the property I have traced it back through the Worsley estate steward’s account books.
The Worsleys, as can be seen by the inclusion of the property in the sale and break up of Appledurcombe estate,
once owned the land and property of Strathwell Dale. This has enabled me to search the accounts and find the
property of Bradings listed in the rack rents.
The property has a date stone displayed over the front entrance; this reads 1722, so this date seemed a logical one to
start with in the accounts. The 1722 accounts do give a property called Bradings, and its tenant paying rent to the
Worsleys. The tenant is named as James Searle, who was paying a rent of £2 a year. (Worsley, 1720-26) Having
found this I looked back to the previous years accounts and found that rent was being paid on the property of Bradings
in the year 1721 for £2 again by a James Searle. (Worsley, 1720-26) This is surprising as the date stone is giving the
property’s date as being 1722. This prompted further research back into the account books, and I uncovered rent
being paid for a property called Bradings back till 1677. (Worsley, 1677-1682) It should be considered that even though
the account books state that rates were being paid for a property called Bradings, this may not be the same property as
stands today; it may have been demolished and rebuilt.
The 1677 accounts are interesting as they give the property of Bradings twice. There are two different rates being paid
by two different tenants. The accounts list rent for Braddings £9 and John Searle for Braddings £3.
(Worsley, 1677-1682) Similarly the 1678 and 79 accounts give the name of John Hayles paying £9 for a year and a half
rent at Bradings, with John Searle paying £3 for a years rent. (Worsley, 1677-1682) The 1683 account book also details
this. (Worsley, 1683) Whereas, the 1702-04 account book has only a James Searle paying rent on Bradings at £4 for 2
years. (Worsley, 1698-1711) This shows that between 1683 and 1702, there was now only one tenant paying for Bradings,
and at a lower price. Furthermore, the Worsley leases give John Searle of Whitwell as being a Churchwarden.
(Worsley, 1680) The account books can also give interesting information into the price of materials and the funds involved
at the time to build or alter a property. For example, in 1721, a Mr Hunt was paid £1 17 shillings and 6d for 3000 sap lathes
and for slate. Mr Paine, paid £2 4 shillings for straw, Mr Coleman was paid £9 for carting 40 tons of stone from the Undercliffe
to Appledurcombe, and Will Spanner paid 19 shillings 4d for paving stones to use in his new malt house. (Worsley, 1720-26)
Other documents that have shed light on Strathwell Dale’s history include leases; a lease dated 10th August 1789 between
Sir R Worlsey and George King shows that Bradings once had a malt house and a Brew house. (IWRO, 1789) A lease from
Gatcombe manor states George King of Whitwell as a malster in 1778. (Seeley Lease, 1778) In addition, a lease of Bradings
is dated 1789 from a James Barker to a Ralph Stone, Mason of Whitwell. (BD/221, 1789)
Another source of information can be gleaned from local residents and past tenants in the form of oral histories.
Having spoken to Mr Russell, a tenant in the 1950s, he revealed to me that the bay to the northern end of the property was
the old dairy and had old milk separators on the shelf when he lived there. His mother had told him that the now bricked up
fireplace, was once an open fire; and that hooks still existed up the chimney, where they had been placed to hook on
cooking pots. To the right of the fireplace at the back of what is now a cupboard, he was told a bread oven once stood,
and the floor to the middle bay used to be flagstones. This would contend with the middle bay once being the main
kitchen/living room. Brinton has suggested that in a typical three bay baffle/lobby entry farmhouse, the central bay would be
used as the main living and eating area, with the chamber on the opposite side to the chimney, serving the family as a sleeping and storage area. The northern bay was often used as a buttery. (Brinton, 1987) Mr Russell also informed me that there were two blocks of stables in what used to be the garden and that on the southern part of the long building parallel to the road (see Fig. 8) there was a dairy; known as the new dairy. This was where all the milking and dairy work took place when Mr Russell was living at Strathwell Dairy.
Analysis of the building
From the evidence gathered on this building the following interpretation can be made. Strathwell Dale was previously called
Bradings and was a farmhouse, or collection of farm buildings. It was built on land owned by the Worsley family living at
Appledurcombe, and was leased out to the occupants. Bradings is mentioned in the Worsley account books dating from
1677, so we know that there was a building of that name in Whitwell at that time. The building was leased out to two
different tenants, therefore it was either one building divided into two dwellings or two separate buildings under the name of
Bradings. In 1702-04 account books only show one person paying rent, so we can surmise that either the other building
changed use or was demolished at this point. The amount paid for rent can also give us clues to the buildings history; the rent
paid in 1677 gives £9 for a year and a half for one tenant, so this would be £6 a year, and £3 for the other tenant.
This suggests that either one building had a lot more land, or was a larger dwelling house. In 1702-04 accounts however, the
amount paid by one tenant is £4 for 2 years, so only £2 a year, which is less than was previously being paid. This suggests that the land was reduced in size or the dwelling house reduced in size. In 1722 only one tenant is leasing Bradings and the amount is still at £2 a year. It can be suggested then that in 1722 when the date stone was erected on the front of the house, that Bradings was altered in some way from its original form. In addition, there is evidence in the physical remains to suggest this. The northern elevation shows rebuilding at some point, and a raising of the roof. This could have taken place when the roof was slated, as the kneelers and coping suggest a thatched roof at some point in the buildings history. The pitch would have needed to have been steeper then and the roof may have been raised to provide more room on the upper storey of the house.
The smaller quoins at the top of the northern elevation and the interruption to the rubble coursing with more random rubble being used at the top could be evidence of a rebuild. The purlins in the roof also do not join into the northern elevation, and they would have been fixed in originally, this suggests alteration to the wall, or purlin; though the purlins appear to be original.
The extension of Brading cottage seems to have been added at a later date, somewhere between 1773 and 1838, when it is first shown on the tithe map. This building would have originally been part of the house; this can be seen by the blocked doorways on the western elevation. The outward facing gables are consistent with a style from the later Victorian period; underneath these there is random rubble, which could suggest a partial collapse or rebuild to the eastern elevation when these were built. The windows in this elevation have also been partly blocked and this has been done at the same time as rebuild on the east elevation, as a no joins show at all on the outside wall. The fireplace is a large inglenook, which can be seen by pulling forward the modern fireplace and looking up the chimney. This is brick lined and extends back a long way; the wide bressumer spanning the fireplace looks to be original. The hall/dairy partition wall is brick lined on the dairy side, and although the bricks are narrow and small, looking to be Victorian the bond seems to be stretcher bond, although a lot of the wall is covered by plaster on the dairy side. The timber post in this wall could be remains of an older partition, perhaps wattle and daub, as there is no need for it to be there as a support if the wall is of brick. The door may have been blocked at a separate time to the wall, as the bricks blocking the doorway are not flush with the wall. The original farmhouse may not always have had a dairy to its north side. This could have become a dairy in the late 18th century, when soldiers were stationed on the Isle of Wight because of the Napoleonic wars. There was a large increase in this time of dairy products and a lot of profit to be made, so many dairies came into use at this time.
Before this it could well have been used as a storeroom or as a buttery, especially as Bradings is recorded as having a malt house and brew house in 1789.
George King, a malster owning the property of Bradings among others in Whitwell lived at Bradings in the late 18th century, it can therefore be surmised that Bradings was a dwelling primarily used for the brewing of beer or ale at this time. The large out buildings seen in the maps of fig’s 1 and 4, could well be a brew house and malt house. By the 1860s these building have gone so the farm has changed use at some point between 1838 and 1866.
We know that Bradings was definitely a dairy in 1921, as the owner is recorded as such in the Kelly directory. It is after this time that the building becomes known as Strathwell Dairy. The tenants during the 1950s could recall the building being known as Bradings farm, and confirmed that in the 1950s the dairy was no longer being used as a dairy, but as a storeroom, and a larger dairy, and cattle sheds and stables stood in the garden and where new houses now stand. The kitchen lean-to was built at this time with the bathroom added in the mid 1960s. Once the land was sold for development in 1963, the building ceased use as a dairy and became a residential dwelling.
Conclusion
Strathwell Dale then was once a lobby entry 3 bay single pile farmhouse, having a brew house and malt house on its premises in the late 18th century and around this time having an extension to the main building now known as Brading cottage added. Further alterations took place in the late Victorian period, and the building changed its use to a dairy. This was then expanded upon in the early 20th century before having the land sold off for development and becoming just a residential dwelling in the 1960s. The research aims have been achieved, the materials used to build the house have been identified and the functions of the building in the past have been realised.
Further information could be gleaned if any documents come to light for Whitwell in the early 17th century. In addition,
more information may come when the inglenook is being restored and the walls re-plastered. Furthermore, excavation to the garden may uncover parts of the brew house and malt house or other farm out buildings that have now been demolished.
The research on this house places it as an important property on the Isle of Wight; lobby entry houses are not very common especially with a lot of the building remaining in original form. The discovery of the hair in the roof, could probe further investigation into ritual and protective charms in buildings. This could help others to better explain past behaviours with regard to popular magic and religion.
Dendrochronology could perhaps be carried out to help date some of the timbers that could be from an earlier structure, like the ceiling beams and timber post. Further searches could be made of the wills and inventories for Whitwell in case any come to light for the occupiers of Bradings, and perhaps of the churchwarden accounts or parish records.