Cellar vault query

[pmc1007]

Hello to all.
I'm a newbie, so be gentle.

Our property was built circa 1690 and has clearly had vaults added in two of the three cellar rooms at some time later than the house's original construction.
The only reason I can come up with is that our vaults were built to support the weight of flagstone floors in the rooms above, one of which still survives.
The construction of the vaults and the history of the house seem to point to a date pre 1840, but this seems a little early to me for the kitchen and scullery to be moving upstairs.
I'm no builder, but I can imagine that this was a fairly major undertaking and consequently must have had reasonable justification at the time.

I'm just curious to see if anyone else out there has encountered a similar situation or has any ideas about why this might have been done.

 

[Abi Cott]

What sort of status is the house, workers cottage, mansion house etc

 

[pmc1007]

It was built as a rectory, so it would have been quite grand for the time
It was used as the rectory until around 1840 when the latest incumbent decided that it was too far from the church and built an even grander one to replace it
It was then bought by the local earl and was rented out until the early sixties
This is one of the reasons it's such a quandary - I can't imagine any of the lordly rectors wanting their servants upstairs but then I also can't imagine a landlord shelling out for major building works to give his tenants stone floors

 

[Kearn]

Welcome, sounds interesting, as Abi says, please tell us more...!

A few initial thoughts.
You imply the flagstones are a later addition. Although I would've expected solid floors from the start, brick or tile if not flags, so still some weight, if not the same significance. Alternatively, if this started as a low status house, then compacted earth floors. What's the certainty of the cellars being original to the building?

Why do you think the vaults are later? And why before 1840?

I'm assuming you have evidence remaining in the cellars to show their original function. Our house is a 2 bay late 16C cottage, but of reasonably high status. With an early Georgian (early 18C) wing added, including full height 7ft+ cellar. What's interesting is that our cellar was never for cooking and didn't have a fireplace - our kitchen moved from the original inglenook in the cottage to an inglenook in the Georgian extension, but at ground level...