HIDDEN away in a quiet backwater of Stourport is a building which has caused quite a stir in Worcestershire's world of archaeology and beyond.

It had already been known Church House, which stands in the peaceful churchyard of St Bartholomew's Church, Areley Kings, was exceptional due to its undisturbed and pristine wattle and daub and oak timbered fabric.Shona Robson-Glyde outside the church house in Areley Kings.

That is how it came to be awarded a Grade II Star listing - extremely rare for such a small building and just one step down from Grade One listing, which only cathedrals and castles warrant.

Now, following an extensive archaeological survey by Shona Robson-Glyde and her colleague Anna Deeks, the fascinating social history which belies the sleepy and unassuming exterior of the Tudor building has been unearthed.

It has been discovered by the two archaeologists who work for Worcestershire County Council, which was commissioned by Worcestershire Building Preservation Trust Ltd.

Church House is not, as had always been thought and as its name suggests, an old house.

The building is not called Church House simply because it stands in the grounds of the church. It is, instead, a fine example of a church house.

Church houses were built from the mid 15th century through to the mid 17th century and were used to hold church ales. Ales were celebrations where people danced and drank, held on saints days, especially at Whitsuntide and May Day.

Beer would have been brewed by the church warden and sold at the ales to raise money for the fabric of the church and local good causes.

Incongruously, during medieval times, before the advent of the church houses, church ales were actually held in the church.

Then the church authorities began to believe that a church should be a place for worship only. So buildings - church houses - were built in the churchyard purely for holding the ales in.

The Areley Kings church house was built in 1536 and is one of only two out of an original 300 which survive in Worcestershire. The other is the Mug House at Claines near Worcester.

Mrs Robson-Glyde said: "Unlike the Claines church house, this one was purpose built and it really is a fine example."

She said the fact it was an important public building rather than a domestic house meant it had avoided being chopped and changed around by latter day home-owners bent on improvements to their dwelling and thus preserving it for posterity.

Shona said hardly anything was known about the history of the building when she arrived at the site in June - not even the date it was built.

It was firstly dated using Dendrochronology - a highly specialised technique involving counting the number of tree rings in 10 of the building's ancient timbers.

There were other clues which alerted Shona that the building may well be much more important within the community than it appeared.

Shona said: "Houses of this period only had one floor and were open to the roof but the church house had been built with a second floor where the actual celebrations were held. I knew there was no way that this could have been a house.

"Also, untypically for a domestic house, the church house has no chimney and it was jettied - with the upper floor jutting out - unusual in the countryside and a symbol of power.

"I realised it wasn't a house but I didn't really know what else it could have been.

"It wasn't until I got back to the office and started doing my research I realised. I was really excited and then everyone in the office got excited too."

Since then, following the appearance of her research in a newsletter, she has had many inquiries from people keen on archaeology.