Watching brief during 2007 and 2008 by D Brooks of Bourne Hall Museum during refurbishment of the presumed 16th century building. The building was recorded by the DBRG as it was stripped back and its 16th century origin confirmed. The excavation of a trench for new footings within the building revealed a layer of burnt timber containing pottery of late medieval date over a mortar/chalk floor or surface, suggestive of the presence of an earlier building on the site, which had been destroyed by fire.

Historic building recording and watching brief by B Davis and S Beach of WA during alterations and conversion to Chatley Farmhouse and associated farm buildings. The building recording demonstrated that parts of the farmhouse date to the late 16th or early 17th centuries, and a two-bay timber-framed structure with brick chimney-stack remains fossilised within the present structure. The building was extended in the late 17th or early 18th century, and was given a major upgrade in the late 18th century, with several other farm buildings added at this time.

Dendrochronology assessment by M Bridge of ODL, undertaken as part of an historic buildings assessment prior to conservation and redevelopment. Seven roof timbers were sampled and analysed, six of which cross-matched with two coming from the same tree. The resulting site master chronology suggested a likely felling date for the timbers as 1580–97, with the supposition being that the probable date of construction was towards the lower end of the sequence, probably in the early 1580s.

Watching brief maintained by N Shaikhley and S Hind of SCAU during the excavation of a pipeline trench and associated easement. This revealed the remains of a 19th century pathway, flints of Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age date, a sherd of 13th/14th century coarse orange ware and post-medieval pottery sherds, all from the stripped topsoil. Metal detecting undertaken by P and A Vallis recovered a religious plaque dated to the late 15th/16th century, and a medieval copper-alloy key.

Watching brief by C Currie of CKCA during the excavations for a lift shaft revealed possible evidence for the foundation wall of either 16th or 18th century houses, both formerly on the site, and a drainage channel. The investigation was however too limited in scale to provide conclusive dating evidence for any features.

Archaeological interpretative survey by D Martin of ASE of the cottage prior to alteration identified that all that remained of the probable original structure was the chimney stack. If re-used timbers within the first floor ceilings are an indicator, then the original date of the structure is unlikely to have been earlier than c 1700. During the second half of the 18th century, the earlier cottage was demolished apart from its chimney, and replaced by the current structure.

Tree-ring analysis, by members of the EH Centre for Archaeology, of timbers in the roof thought to have been constructed pre-Reformation. Seven timbers were dated and gave an interpreted felling date range of AD 1553–64, and therefore a post-Reformation date for the roof.

Geophysical survey by R Dean and C Carey of Substrata Ltd, on the site of the former mansion and gardens. Ground conditions were particularly dry, and therefore not ideal for tracing the buried structural remains of the mansion, although some variations in the readings suggested differences between the known Elizabethan part of the house and the later 19th century additions. Further structural complexity was noted, but could not be confirmed.

Evaluation by J Lowe of TVAS prior to submission of an application for redevelopment. The remains of the former manor (demolished in c 1988 following an earlier fire) were found to be in a relatively poor condition, with large areas apparently having been completely robbed and only fragmentary rubble remaining. Sufficient remains were encountered to establish the accuracy of known plans of the site however. The remains of the Elizabethan core of the building were particularly poorly represented.