Building record 6655/1/1 - Mid-19th century farm building

Building forming the eastern side of the courtyard of Weedon Lodge Farm. Various elements including stable, tack-room, trap house, forge and pig-styes

{1} Building A is a linear building forming the easternmost range of the farmyard. The building is not scheduled for conversion, but has been included in the building recording for its intrinsic group value. The building is red brick-built under a corrugated asbestos cement sheet roof with lime mortar pointing. The brickwork on the principal and rear elevations is laid in a Flemish Garden Wall Bond (three stretcher bricks to one header brick in each course), the gable brickwork is laid in a Flemish Bond (alternate header bricks and stretcher bricks in each course). The standard 9inch x 3inch x 4 ½ inch (220mm x 550mm x 110mm) brick dimensions suggests a post 1830s construction date. Interestingly, there is extensive use of over-fired bluish bricks, known as flared headers on the west facing gable, possibly laid as a decorative feature. The use of polychrome brickwork began in the medieval period and reached its heights in the 17th century with diaper patterning, there was a revival in the early 19th century as part of the wider Gothic Revival, and it possible that the builder may have been influenced by the wider Gothic Revival and attempted to enhance the gable most visible from the farmhouse.
Internally, the building is very interesting and is clearly a planned design. The building consists of two principal bays, each of which has a number of sub-divisions. The northernmost bay consists of two loose boxes and a trap house with double doors on the east facing elevation (away from the farm yard) under an attractive bullnose brick arch. Both loose boxes have evidence of originally having plastered ceilings suggesting they were for domestic horses rather than farm horses. There is also a small room, adjacent to the loose boxes which includes a small domestic fireplace, probably a tack room and grooms sitting room.
The central room, is by far the most interesting part of the building, internally there is an original forge on the northernmost wall indicating the room was originally a forge. On the easternmost wall is an internal buttress which has two low level doors under flat brick arches, the purpose of which was explained by the current owner. Prior to the farms connection to main water, water was supplied by a spring; the cistern is located below this part of the building and accessed via these doors.
The southernmost rooms are again interesting features of the building, the southernmost rooms, are pig sties with open yards on the southern gable, such an arrangement is common, however, there is also a hanging door on the east elevation which provides access to the area above the sty. It is likely that this area was a hen house (and is still in use as such), as it was thought the chickens would keep the pigs warm and the pigs would frighten foxes away, this arrangement was relatively common, but surviving examples are not as common. The floor of the hen house is corrugated tinned sheets, without doubt a modern replacement of the original floor.
The south-western room is a difficult space to characterise, the room is the full width of the building, but narrow. The four substantial cross beams as well as the high level air vents on the south wall suggests the room may have had a storage use, possibly hanging carcases to cool.

<1> Archaeological Building Recording Services, 2016, An Archaeological Standing Building Survey: Weedon Lodge Farm, Everdon Road, Weedon, Northamptonshire, p.6-7 (Report). SNN110319.

<2> Crank, N. (Editor), 2017, South Midlands Archaeology (47), p. 35 (Journal). SNN111362.

Record last edited

Feb 26 2025 7:45PM