Sheraton Hill Farm, Sheraton, Co Durham: archaeological building recording (archaeol3-350274)

Level 2 survey of a late-19th-century agricultural building. This is an E-plan structure with a large timber hay barn, an engine house and a granary. It was constucted for housing and feeding cattle and later used as stabling in an equestrian centre. This archive presents the results of an archaeological recording project conducted in advance of proposed alteration work at Sheraton Hill Farm, Sheraton, Co Durham. A Level 2 survey of the principal farm building has been carried out. The works were commissioned by J. O. Brewis & Sons Ltd and conducted by Archaeological Services Durham University. The Sheraton Hill Farm building is a good-quality structure designed for housing and feeding cattle. It was probably built in the late 1880s or early 1890s, when an older steading at Hill Top was abandoned, and it shows little evidence of significant alteration. In its original form, the building incorporated two stock yards and substantial byres with stalls, a large hay barn, an engine for feed processing and a granary. A number of labour-saving arrangements, including well-designed feeding passages and sliding doors, as well as the generally high standard of construction, show that it was the product of a successful business. Though no documentary evidence about its building has been found, it seems likely that the relocation of the farm and the construction of Sheraton Hill were paid for by Anthony Wilkinson, the landowner and lord of the manor. The building seems to have remained largely unaltered until after the Second World War, when the yards were covered over. Alterations made since 2000 have masked some details but the building remains substantially intact. The contemporary farm house is still standing. The other buildings on the steading are of no historical interest.