Building record 3272/8/2 - Manor Farm Barn

Barn probably of 17th/18th-century origin. By the end of the 19th century it had been converted into a stable and farm office downstairs, with a spacious hayloft floor above

{1} Manor Farm Barn may be of 17th or 18th century date and began life as a single open space, but by the end of the 19th century it had been converted into a stable and farm office downstairs, with a spacious hayloft floor above. During the middle decades of the 20th century the ground floor was also inhabited on a semi-permanent basis. More recently the stable had been used as a workshop.
The barn formerly belonged to Manor Farm, a Grade II Listed Building. The majority of the farm buildings have all previously been sold off and demolished or incorporated into adjacent housing, only the barn remaining. It is not listed in its own right but is considered to be listed by curtilage as related to the former Manor House.
The east-west orientated barn measures 9.2m x 5.9m. It is currently divided into two rooms downstairs and a single storage floor upstairs, accessed by a ladder. It is constructed of local limestone blocks, poorly coursed and roughly laid. There are pointing repairs. The walls are generally 600-700mm thick. The roof is of corrugated iron but was once almost certainly thatched, given the steep pitch of the gables. Photos and plan.
The building began life as a crop barn and was a single storage space and designed so as to prevent warmth and sunlight sprouting the grain inside. The north wall contains the original entrance, wide enough for a barrow. This is now blocked and contains a window. The south wall originally had a single small opening, possibly for owls, but this is now blocked. The gables were probably plain. Later doors and windows have been inserted. The original barn probably also had a hay loft at its east end. It is not known when or why the building was no longer needed as a barn and became a stable and office. Details of conversion included, and its inter-war use as a home. It was also used in WWII to house a POW who worked on the farm.
In summary, the simple small barn is noted as being of C17th date, but could equally be C18th. It was converted into a stable and farm office in the later C19th, and then a house during two decades of the C20th. It is architecturally plain but its subsequent numerous uses have made it of passing social interest in addition to its status as being considered listed grade II by curtilage.

{2} The first edition OS map of 1885 shows the barn just as it is today.

<1> Soden I., 2013, Archaeological Building Recording and Evaluation at Manor Farm Barn, 7 Dychurch Lane, Bozeat, Northamptonshire, p.1-12 (checked) (Report). SNN109628.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1885, First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 Inch Mapping Series (46.15), (unchecked) (Map). SNN109693.

Record last edited

Aug 18 2020 1:02PM