19th century model farm complex, Peckers Farm, Green Street, Great Canfield (EHER 15460)

Peckers Farm is a model farmstead built sometime between 1876 and 1895. The planned farm comprises stables, two barns, a shelter shed, dairy and ancillary buildings forming a square farmyard towards the farmhouse at the south-east. A separate block of pigsties and a cart shed form an L-plan to the south-west. The buildings are constructed of yellow brick ornamented with bands of red bricks and red moulded wall tiles. The roofs are covered with slate.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Integrated range of farm buildings, late 19th century. Yellow stock bricks ornamented with bands of red bricks and red moulded wall tiles, with roofs of slate. 'A mid-Victorian 'industrial' version of the familiar U-pattern farmstead which established itself in the late eighteenth century'. Stables, two barns, shelter shed, dairy and ancillary buildings forming a square yard open towards the farmhouse on the south-east, and a separate block of pigsties and wagon shed forming an L-plan to the south-west, the intermediate foldyard enclosed by brick walls between the blocks. North-east elevation - rear wall of one block divided into five bays by brick pilasters, with a band of red bricks and red moulded tiles of foliate design below the eaves; and the gable end of one barn with 2 brick pilasters, the pediment outlined by a band of red moulded tiles of egg-and-dart design, with a central recessed square panel containing red moulded tiles of foliate design. Both barns retain all original doors and winnowing boards. The shelter shed on south-west side of main block retains a scalloped wooden canopy, although blocked in below. All interiors are in unusually intact condition, with original feed chutes and other features. The whole complex was built between 1874 and 1895 (OS maps), the main block probably very early in this period, the pigsty block probably added later in the period, by the Maryon-Wilson family, landlords, to serve a tenant farm which comprised 231 acres in 1847 (tithe award). Harvey: letter of 23 December 1982 from Dr. Nigel Harvey, Honorary Librarian of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. <1> A good example of an industrial planned farm dating to the 1870's. Estate of Maryon-Wilson. <2> See also images: <3> May 2023. Level 3 building survey. The farm buildings are Listed Grade 2 as good examples of late 19th farm buildings. At the time of the 1982 Listing much of the original layout, fittings and features remained but these have all been removed. The main block was built as an example of Victorian High Farming as an integrated complex of buildings serving several interconnected functions. Built to the same standards as the main block but without much of the ornamentation, it is noted in the Listing that the West Block was built later in the period 1876 – 1895. The main block was built as an example of Victorian High Farming as an integrated complex of buildings serving several interconnected functions. To the north, giving onto the farmland, is a large barn without porches and now without leaps. The 1983 Listing description describes winnowing boards which have been lost. In fact, all the joinery has been replaced in the last few years. The Listing mentions two barns, but the second must be the Granary. There is a large grain store on the Granary floor which was divided up into bins for grain and for hay. Below was a large stable, outfitted with Victorian timber stalls, all of which have been removed. The ground floor is divided in half with a milking parlour on the south-west side which remained in use well into the 20th century when a concrete floor was poured. The same building had a loose box, tack room and two other stalls. Forming the courtyard is the open shelter on the north-east side which had a manger and hayrack for horse standings as well as stables. This building is timber-framed and is sprung off the perimeter wall. The brickwork of all the buildings is the most striking feature. As described in the Listing they are made of yellow London Stock bricks with red brick dressings all of the same Victorian standard 65x110x220-5mm size. The bricks are laid in Flemish garden wall bond set in sandy flint tempered mortar. All the roofs have 12x24in grey slates. The details of the brickwork indicate a style propagated by the Arts and Crafts Movement as well as classical patterns with egg and dart moulding. Square bricks have a pattern with three large leaves fixed to a five petalled flower. Each gable end has an Arts and Crafts Movement motif including the atypical sunflower. In 1887, the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society, which gave the movement its name, was formed in London, with Walter Crane as its first president. It held its first exhibition there in November 1888 in the New Gallery. However, the movement was given momentum by John Ruskin, William Morris and Augustus Pugin from the 1840s onwards and polychromatic brickwork was popularised. The buildings were very much more beautiful than previous farm buildings and the level of engineering much higher. The machined timber in particular is of fine quality and is still sharp today. Failings in the roof have led to sections of the Granary floor being replaced. The west block was built to the same standards as the main block but without much of the ornamentation. It is noted in the listing that the west block was built later in the period. These units are designed to house three sows, a boar, horses and probably cattle. On the north-east side of the west block the listing notes a fold yard - a term usually associated with sheep. The southern unit may have been a cart lodge or horse standings before the boar was housed here in the mid 20th century. The part of the granary that was used as a milking parlour and assigned as part of a dairy was originally open sided. In the mid 20th century, most likely in the 1930s and 1940s, the open bays were closed up and a concrete floor and a cubicle inserted to run modern milking equipment. In the same period the south bay of the open shelter was converted to a garage. In the garage is a mid 20th century hand operated water pump that would not have been easily accessed before the garage was opened up. In the 1950s there was an active marketing ploy by manufacturers and the government to encourage farmers to pre-dress and glean the grain before sale. The incentive was the increased value of the product. The only evidence of the machinery used now is a few holes in the doors and walls for the ducting. In the concrete floor is a deep pit which was the base of a pre-dresser. The pit was used to tip in the grain from the harvest and then raise in through either bucket lifts or augers to the blowers where it can be dried and gleaned. Sliding doors were added to aid access. There are pencil marks on the walls where the blower and drier controls were connected. Most of the roof coverings of the buildings have been replaced and the machined softwood used as repairs is of the right colour and sizes to have been done in the mid 20th century and the most likely time for major repairs would have been when the pre-dresser equipment was put in as it would have occupied the Granary and the Barn. In the yards north of the site are the concrete bases of circular silos that would have fed the machinery. <4>