Keepers Cottage, Abbeystead, Lancashire: Archaeological Building Recording (Level 3)

A planning application was submitted for the renovation of Keepers Cottage, Abbeystead, Lancashire. Consequently, Stephen Gardiner the senior Conservation Officer at Lancashire City Council, and Doug Moir the Planning Officer (Archaeology) at Lancashire County Council requested an Archaeological recording of the Grade II listed building. The level 3 building recording was carried out by Greenlane Archaeology in October 2008 and a brief summary of the findings is presented below.

Keepers Cottage is a traditional double pile house that is thought to pre-date 1770. It is within the hamlet of Abbeystead that is shown to exist on an estate plan compiled in 1653 at which time it consisted of ten buildings. Unfortunately it is not known whether there was a building at the site of Keepers Cottage at this time. The layout of the building appears to have remained unchanged since its construction and only minor renovations have taken place. Very little information specific to the cottage could be found, although it appears to have been a gamekeepers cottage in recent times.

The full report is available on the Archaeology Data Service website: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-700-1/dissemination/pdf/greenlan1-57397_1.pdf