Farm buildings at Nazeing Lodge Farm (EHER 40512)

The farm buildings at Nazeing Lodge Farm are the remains of a mid to late 19th century farmstead with early 20th century additions.

The farmstead is on the site of a former lodge of a 13th century deer park which aslo functioned as a common. Part of the comon was enclosed as farmland in 1651, creating Lodge Farm. Now the traditional buildings on site mainly date from 1862-1895. The farm was then owned by George Palmer and after 1873 by his son Ralph. At this time there was no coherent layout, instead ther was a loose grouping of buildings set around a yard (barns stables and stock sheds) with a few earlier buildings retained. Further buildings were added in quick succession, (nine in 20 years) including a nag stable near to the house. The layout was complicated by the the addition of a number of stock sheds, unevenly dividing the yard and blocking a recently built open shed. The piecemeal development rather than wholesale new build implies either lack of forethought or finance. As Ralph Palmer was interested in cattle breeding he may have been responsible for the introduction of an intensive stalling system. Later additions include pigsties and a workshop. A detached granary, cart shed and Dutch barn have all been demolished during the 20th century. When the Nazeing Park estate was broken up in the 1920s, Lodge farm was purchased by a Scottish dairy farmer who converted many of the buildings to milking sheds and cattle houses. Some were later used for intensive calf rearing. The farm buildings are mainly timber framed in softwood or Baltic pine, primary braced and standard side purlin with ridge piece construction and two roofs incorporating iron bolts and ties. The pig sties are of red brick and a small bull shed and replacement shed wall are in gault brick. The roofs were originally tiled although one building may have once had a thatch. The single storey cattle ranges have been much altered and one has collapsed. A wood hay rack, concrete cow stalls and a sterilising chest are the only earlier fittings that survive. <1>