Allen Archaeology were commissioned to undertake a programme of building recording of a range of 18th and 19th century farm buildings at Towngate House Farm, in the south Lincolnshire town of Market Deeping.

The site included two listed buildings, a late 18th/early 19th century oast house and a large 19th century threshing barn. The oast house was one of only two examples recorded in the county and therefore of regional significance. It was attached to a large barn used to store the crops before processing.
 
 
Exterior of the oast house, looking west.
 

Despite having been re-roofed, the oast house retained the internal plasterwork below the roof line with an aperture for a circular ventilation cowl, a feature developed in the early 19th century, and typical of the Kent skyline, where oast houses are abundant.

Supporting documentary research carried out during this project also indicated an early 19th century date for the oast house, which first appears on the Enclosure Map of 1815. Analysis of the local trade directories suggested that the farm was owned by the Goodale family, listed as 'farmers and maltsters' during the 1840s and 1850s, but only as farmers by the time of the 1861 directory.
The other listed buildings on the site included a large threshing barn that retained its large opposing openings that would have allowed for the throughflow of air to carry away chaff during the threshing process. The listing included a 19th century stable block and hay store to its south (see below).
 
 
The large threshing barn, showing the basket arch opening in the west elevation, mirrored by an identical one in the east elevation.
 
South elevation of the listed 19th century stable block, showing the brick dressings around the cast iron ventilator openings.
 
Two further ranges of single storey stables or animal shelters ran along the east and north sides of a central crewyard, which was occpied by 20th century steel and breeze block buildings. The south end of the eastern range of buildings had a datestone showing a date of 1731, likely to be an attempt to falsely antiquate the buildings.
 
 

Datestone on the south end of the stable block

 

In the south-west corner of the site was a Victorian walled garden, probably built at the same time as the adjacent farmhouse, dated to 1864. There was no indication of its original layout, as it was very overgrown and occupied by a derelict greenhouse and modern breeze block animal shelters.

View of the Victorian walled garden, with the farmhouse in the background.