HISTORIC BUILDING RECORDING FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION AND CONVERSION OF LOWES FARM BARNS, EDGEFIELD, NORFOLK DECEMBER 2011 PREPARED BY RAVEN LAND MANAGEMENT LTD FOR STODY ESTATE LTD Compiled by T. Schofield Bsc (Hons) Surveying SAL Raven Land Management Ltd, St Nicholas Lodge, Back Lane, Blakeney, NR25 7NP 01263 740920 [email protected] 1. Contents 1. Contents 2. Project Particulars 3. Description of the Proposal 4. Description and History of the Buildings 5. Photography 5.1 List of plates 5.2 Site Plan Showing Location and Direction of Photographs 5.3 Plates 6. Plans of the Buildings 7. Structural Survey 8. Appendices 8.1 Norfolk Historic Environment Services Brief 8.2 Copy of English Heritage List Entry for Lowes Farm House 8.3 Glossary 2. Project Particulars Site Name: Lowes Farm Barns Property Address: Lowes Farm Hunworth Road Edgefield Melton Constable Norfolk NR24 2EX OS Grid Reference: 607773 / 335435 OS Grid Coordinates: TG 0777335435 Latitude/Longitude: 52.8762, 1.0861 English Heritage UID: 224044 (Lowes Farm House) NHER Number: 12062 Planning Authority: North Norfolk District Council Planning Application Number: PF/10/1176 Historic Environment Service Ref: CNF43193 Report Compiled By: Tim Schofield Bsc (Hons) Surv SAL Raven Land Management Ltd St Nicholas Lodge Back Lane Blakeney Holt NR25 7NP Date: 28th November 2011 On Behalf of: Stody Estate Ltd Stody Estate Office Melton Constable Norfolk NR24 2ER RLM Ltd Report Reference: 09/01 3. Description of the Proposal Planning consent was granted by North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) under Reference PF/10/1176 to which the following condition was attached; ‘No development shall take place within the site until the applicant has secured the implementation of a programme of historic recording in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the local authority.’ This recording has been complied in order to fulfil the intentions of, and to discharge this condition. The imposition of this condition is due to the barns being adjacent to Lowes Farmhouse, a Grade II listed building, and therefore they form the setting of the listed building. A copy of the English Heritage Listing of Lowes Farmhouse is provided at Appendix 8.2. The application proposes the conversion of this range of barns to form one unit, to be used as holiday accommodation (Barn 1), and one unit to be used as a residential dwelling (Barn 3 and part Barn 2). In between these two units there will be garaging, a workshop and service areas for Lowes Farmhouse. The units that will be created will be contained entirely with the envelope of the existing buildings, the scale and massing of the range of barns will not be effected. There will be some remodelling of the external brick walls in the yard to the north of the buildings and enclosed gardens will be created. The materials that will be used in the conversion will match those that are present in the existing building, any new joinery items such as windows and doors will be in timber in a style to suit. It is considered that the range of barns are no longer of use for agricultural purposes, none of the openings or spaces within them is suitable for modern agricultural machinery or methods. The proposed conversion of these buildings will secure their long term preservation. 4. Description and History of the Buildings The Lowes Farm Barns form the southern section of a group of buildings known as Lowes Farm located on the Hunworth Road in Edgefield. The principle structure in this group is The Lowes Farmhouse, a Grade II listed long farm house built in the early part of the 17th century. It is a fine example and much of its internal layout and details remain in their original form. The range of barns known as The Lowes Farm Barns are made up of three distinct structures, the most prominent being the two story barn at the eastern end of the range, herein called Barn 1 (Plate 4). The central structure is a series of single storey cart sheds and stores, Barn 2 (Plate12). The third element, Barn 3 (Plate 7) is a further card shed that is partially enclosed, again single story the open elevation faces west. At present Barns 1 & 3 are in a reasonable state of repair, although disused, an extensive programme of repair to the roof of Barn 2 is underway by agreement with the NNDC Conservation Area Team. As these are distinct structures built at different times, they will be described individually. Barn 1 General Appearance In form, the building is a conventional three-part barn for either hand flail threshing or for use as a chaff house. There is no anecdotal evidence to support either use, in the absence of any pitching doors at high level, indicative of a chaff house, it is assumed that the building was used for threshing, the central bay having been the threshing floor. The large, opposed doorways in the north and south sides of the building ensured that the threshing floor was well illuminated by natural light, and this daylight would have extended further into the barn beyond the central bay. The large doorways would also have allowed entry for carts. To the northern side there is a porch which would have provided shelter for carts as they were loaded and unloaded. Originally the porch was a modest structure that extended circa 2.4m beyond the face of the north elevation of the building, however, this structure was extended (Plates 4 & 11) at a later time. This would have had little detriment to the amount of natural light afforded to the interior of the barn, being on the north side of the building. Storage bays were located either side of the threshing floor, one would have been to store unthreshed sheaves of straw and the other the threshed straw. These storage areas were ventilated by four chequerboard ventilator openings, two per storage bay. Externally the chequerboard brick pattern is simply incorporated into the flint masonry (Plate 2), whereas internally they infill window like openings set into the flint masonry with brick quoins and timber lintels and brick arches above (Plate 21). These ventilator openings are mirrored in the side walls of the porch where two smaller ventilator openings are provided in a similar style. In this area of North Norfolk chequerboard ventilation windows are common in both threshing barns and chaff houses, there are many examples in barns located between Fakenham and Cromer and the North Norfolk Coast. In addition to the ventilation windows there is a breather slit in the peak of the east and west gables (Plates 4 & 25). Both of these slits are of sufficient width to have also functioned as owl holes. Below the breather slit on the west gable the brick quoin detail extends below to form a panel that has been rendered with the date ‘1864’ decoratively scratched into the surface of the render. On the north elevation of the Barn, to the east of the porch there is evidence of a previous lean to structure that would have covered the ventilator opening. There is an obvious scar from the lime mortar flashing that would have created a watertight detail where the roof abutted the face of the elevation, a narrow opening that has been brick up and a number of repaired sockets immediately below the roof line scar that would have carried the roof structure (Plate 26). It is not known when, or for what purpose this lean to structure was constructed, the timing of its removal is also unknown. Other than the window style ventilator openings the other notable details within the barn are the two alcoves that are built into the brick quoins on the internal corners where the walls of the porch meet the north elevation. To the west side is the alcove is four courses high and one and a half courses deep. The top is crudely formed by two rubbed bricks leaning against one another at roughly a 30 degree angle (Plate 22). To the east side the alcove is rectangular, is four courses high and only one deep. The head is formed from a rough sawn oak board. It is not known what purpose these alcoves served. Structure The Barn is of traditional rectangular footprint and is constructed from solid masonry walls of random flint work interspersed with brick headers. The building was well built and has substantial brick quoins at the external and internal corners and at the reveals to openings. The barn roof is in five bays with a larger central bay over the threshing floor, with four timber ‘A’ frame trusses and two timber ties at the gables (Plates 16 & 17). These support a single set of purlins to either side with timber rafters above, at the walls these sit on substantial timber wall plates. There is no evidence of any carpenters marks. The roof covering is in traditional clay pantile. The floor of the barn is brick paviours to the threshing floor and compacted earth elsewhere. Barn 2 General Appearance and Structure This range of cart sheds is currently undergoing essential maintenance to the roof structure, strengthening of the trusses and replacement of the rafters and purlins has all been carried out. The Barn is divided into two sections of roughly equal proportions by a random flint masonry wall, both the east and west sections are split into three bays with timber columns supporting the roof structure to the open front aspect (Plate 12). The three external walls are a combination of random flint work with brick and concrete block infill panels where openings have been blocked up or repairs made.