Building record 4639/5/2 - Range of C18th/C19th Barns & Cattle Sheds at Manor Farm

Barn. C18. Coursed ironstone rubble and slate roof. L-plan.

{1} Barn. C18. Coursed ironstone rubble and slate roof. L-plan. 10 bays. Main section alongside A43 of 5 bays has double opposed doors with wood lintels, that to A43 blocked. The other section curves round corner of Malsor Lane and A43. Tie beam collar truss roof with 2 tiers of purlins.

{3} Barns 1-3 form an L-plan range of buildings curving round from Towcester Road into Malzor Lane.
Building 1, at the south-west end of the range, is a two-storey rectangular barn 6m wide x 4.7m long. It butts against the south gable of Building 2. It is built of coursed ironstone rubble which shows occasional evidence of a hard creamy white mortar beneath modern cement repointing.The barn has a red terracotta pantile roof. There is a single ground floor doorway opening, clearly reworked, in the east wall, abutting the earlier gable wall. Inside is a red brick-built manger on the west wall, the edge of the trough capped with Staffordshire blue brick. The south gable of the building is stone-coped and has a hayloft door at first floor height. Before being blocked, this door gave access to a floor extending across the full width of the southern part of the building.
Building 2 is the largest within this range and is L-shaped. It is abutted to the south by Building 1 and to the east by Building 3, a series of animal hovels. It is individually Listed Grade II. The structure is clearly formed of two separate phases; to the south is a coursed ironstone rubble barn 18.5m x 6m x 3.2m high. These are pierced by two vertical ventilation slits in the east wall, and a single slot on the south gable, just visible above the ridge of Building 1. The roof timbers (the early parts of which are probably oak) now carry a corrugated cement and asbestos sheet roof, with two panels of clear corrugated plastic sheet forming skylights. There are opposing doorways in the east and west walls. The smaller west doorway (2.4m square) is blocked with modern brick. The east door is full height to the eaves and 3m wide, but has been substantially reworked. The floor of the cross between the two openings of this threshing barn has been re-laid in blue brick, the remaining floor is red brick. The stone walls of the barn are tied into the curving section of the barn that forms the angle of the L-plan and extends round to the east along Malzor Lane. The apex of the curved corner carries a window opening 1m square, with fixed horizontal louvers for ventilation. This part of the barn has a coursed ironstone rubble external skin and a brick-built inner face, and is clearly of a different phase of building. The joint was obscured by ivy to the west, but visible to the east where a change in the size of stones and levels of coursing could be observed. The roof covering of this section of the barn is of blue slate, probably Welsh, and thus is C19th in date. It is probably not however the original roof covering. The opposite inner curve of the barn wall has two identical window openings either side of a centrally placed doorway. The doorway was originally full height, but has been reduced to 2.8m high x 2m wide. A drive shaft supporting two pulley wheels of earlier belt-driven machinery is mounted on the inside southern wall of the barn. Its purpose is not known, but may be associated with late C19th threshing machinery. A timber mezzanine floor at the east end of the barn is in poor condition. Surviving C20th machinery suggests that this upper floor was used to store grain which was fed down through a hopper and crusher to create meal, possibly for use on the farm but also possibly for sale.
Building 3 butts the east gable of Building 2. It is a single storey, rectangular building of coursed ironstone rubble, 19m x 5.5m. On the north side against Malzor Lane the wall is aligned with that of Barn 2 to the west. On the south side it is set slightly back. The north wall contains three simple window openings with vertical louvres for ventilation, a common feature in C19th cattle hovels. The south wall facing the stock yard is much altered in brick and stone. It is possible that this side was originally open, but this is far from certain. It contains a window opening. The most obvious modern wall insertion is of Fletton brick, which may have taken place when the building was converted to a milking parlour. There is fragmentary evidence of animal stalls, part comprising a cement and concrete manger. Few internal fixtures or fittings remain. The roof was apparently of Welsh slate, indicating a C19th date, but this had been removed prior to recording.

{4} Undated photo, also photo dated 11.01.1994;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 9/114 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F10 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<3> McAree D., 2010, Archaeological Building Recording of Barns at Manor Farm, Milton Malsor, Northamptonshire, p.4-8 (checked) (Report). SNN107908.

<4> Photographs of buildings in Milton Malsor (Photographs). SNN112859.

Record last edited

Jan 19 2022 11:19AM