Building record 893/1/4 - Former meat larder, Norton House

A 19th century meat larder probably used to store meat for the hounds, rather than for human consumption given its location far from the hall

{1} The former meat larder at Pant Yr Owen Farm is a simple room provided with well-ventilated windows and a single door to house meat, presumably mostly game hunted on the former Norton Hall estate. The room is not part of the original range of four open-sided cart hovels but was added at an unknown date to the east end of the group, along with other livestock provision at the west end of the same range. The style of the brickwork and the material used indicate a date in the second half of the nineteenth century, most obviously the widespread use of bull-nose bricks throughout the range. If this is the case it most likely relates to the expansion of the hall under the ownership of the Thynne family who inherited mid-century. Given the widespread use of the bull-nose brick it seems more likely to have been built as part of their ownership and probably upgrading of the estate, perhaps as a response to the increasing popularity of hunting and shooting at this period.
As an example of a meat larder it is particularly plain and its location, away from the main house,
precludes it from having any decorative detail. Where such structures are located close to the main
residence, greater care was generally taken over appearance, whereas here it is purely functional.
Given this fact it is probable that the larder was used primarily for the storage of meat to feed the
hounds housed in the kennels adjacent to the cottage rather than for the hanging of game for the
kitchens at the hall.

<1> Prentice, J., 2016, Building recording of a former meat larder at the former kennels of Norton Hall, Norton, Northamptonshire, checked (Report). SNN110340.

<2> Crank, N. (Editor), 2017, South Midlands Archaeology (47), p. 38 (Journal). SNN111362.

Record last edited

Mar 20 2024 12:13PM