EDO6531 - St Giles House and the 'Riding House', Wimborne St Giles; architectural survey 2003-2017

An interdisciplinary study involving documentary research and investigation of the fabric of St Giles House was undertaken in order to gain an understanding to underpin a programme of repairs and conservation. The investigation included the use of luminescence dating of brick as part of a pilot feasibility study. 15 bricks were sampled. Dendrochronology sampling of 15 timbers from 6 areas of the building was also undertaken with subsequent radiocarbon dating and wiggle-matching on two cores which could not be dated by denrochronology. Bayesian chronological modelling was undertaken to combine the scientific dates with the relative and absolute dating of the surviving fabric known from architectural, structural and documentary evidence. A further building known as the 'Riding House' had 11 timbers sampled for dendrochronology. Greater clarity on the dates of construction and previous alterations was achieved.