Plans to demolish part of Hollam Hill Farm to protect its historic roof timbers

Hollam Hill Farm forms part of the Hollam House where Captain James Andersons, who served in the Royal Navy from the American War of Independence through to 1815, lived. The farm is a 17.9-hectare livestock farm, consisting mainly of pastoral grassland. It has several agricultural buildings and a farmhouse located south of Titchfield.

The farm has been part of Hampshire County Council’s county farms estate since 1988 and has been used as a county farm and farm shop selling goods produced on the farm and from the local community since then.

Over time, a number of livestock buildings on the farm with wooden portal frames, have deteriorated significantly. This deterioration has led to the decision to replace them. In August 2023, consent was granted for their replacement with three new steel portal frame buildings within a similar footprint for livestock housing purposes.

Now, Hampshire County Council has submitted another application to demolish the western five bays of the Oak Framed Barn building with the retention and reparation of two of them. The application aims to protect the building’s historic roof timbers, which date from around 1802, and add a “weather boarding” to the new gable end.

The report indicates that the south wall separating the two buildings is formed of historic brickwork of mostly Flemish garden bond. It also said that most of the original timber columns retain “aesthetic value;” however, “internally, the aesthetic value of the remaining historic structure has been impacted by the addition of concrete column encasements, modern replacement timber members, and modern masonry walling.”

Comments on application to Hampshire County Council should include the reference HCC/2024/0240 and can be made until June 7.