LATHOM PARISH

The vernacular building survey of Lathom, undertaken as part of the Local Heritage Initiative project, has proven to be a great success. It involved the examination, at varying levels, of all the pre-twentieth century buildings within the parish of Lathom, where the owners had given permission, in order to identify the wealth of the architectural heritage in the area and also to reconstruct the history of the parish through its buildings.

The most fascinating aspect of the study is to discover the extent to which every building has developed its own unique character in terms of fabric, form and function, as the buildings have evolved to keep up with changing fashions, maintenance and the changing ways of life. The Vernacular Buildings Group have found a rich mine of blocked doors, windows, extensions and different styles and forms of bricks - enough for any buildings detective to be kept busy.

In general the buildings date from the late-seventeenth century onwards, and this corresponds with the ‘Great Rebuild’ trend of the same period when many vernacular buildings throughout the country were rebuilt in a more durable form. The general pattern in the study area sectors was one of a scattered settlement pattern. This pattern changes in the northern part of the parish where it is more industrial mainly in the form of brick cottages. One of the most interesting buildings had clear evidence of successive phases of building, including a number of extensions reflected in the changing fabric of stone and brick, and the exciting discovery of a blocked mullioned window (typically of 17th century date).

Most buildings in the parish were constructed from brick, the most common brick bond was English Garden Wall bond, though some examples were Flemish and these were generally displayed on the front elevations where there was a definite brick hierarchy.

Out buildings such as barns, stables and wash-houses seem to have survived the greater onset of 20th century changes, and still retain much of their character. A good example was found which was by far the largest barn recorded, with a long history of alterations, with large king post trusses and Flemish bonding on the earlier portion of the front elevation.

An unexpected wealth of information has arisen from the initial phase of the Lathom Buildings Survey, creating great anticipation for more discoveries in Newburgh and other peripheral areas.