19th century barn and stable at Little Nunty's Farm (EHER 46782)

Barn and stables at Little Nunty's Farm. The barn is the only surviving agricultural building of a mid 19th century farmstead. The farmstead was built between 1833-1875 and is though to have been part of the Holfield Grange Estate. It was recorded in 2008.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: 2008. Building survey. Recording works were undertaken on the remains of a 19th century farmstead in advance of conversion to holiday lets. The group comprises a barn and stables, the latter of which was built originally as a cow shed. Other elements to the farm are believed to have been demolished when large modern pre-fabricated sheds and grain silos were built in the mid-late 20th century. The buildings are timber-framed and boarded with later corrugated asbestos roofs and typical of their type. The barn has been adapted for grain storage and there are few internal fixtures and fittings in either structure. Over a short period of time, Little Nunty's adopted the plan form of a typical Victorian mixed farmstead, with a barn and animal ranges set around a central yard. Although the structures have limited architectural value, their vernacular character and preservation as part of the rural landscape is important. <1> July 2011. Non-designation case. The buildings at Little Nunty's Farm were built between 1833-1875 and are believed to have been part of the Holfield Grange Estate, owned by the Hanbury family who were brewers in Hertfordshire. The steading was established as a planned farm and comprised a house, a small barn and two long ranges, probably cattle sheds. In the late 19th century, an additional outshot was added to the north of the barn porch; the outshot attached to the south of the barn porch was replaced by an open-fronted cattle shed that was converted into a stable in the early 20th century. The original cattle sheds have been demolished and modern storage sheds and grain silos have been built partly on the site of the former farmyard. The farmhouse has been refurbished and extended recently. The barn is the only surviving agricultural building of the mid 19th century farmstead. This single-storey, four bay barn has a timber-frame construction on a red brick plinth. The exterior is weatherboarded and the roof is covered with corrugated asbestos sheeting. There are original double doors to the front and rear. The timber-frame is relatively intact and comprises a primary-braced, softwood frame. The roof has pre-fabricated roof trusses with raking shores and bolted knees to the truss in the midstrey. The underside of the roof is finished in pine sarking. The stables were originally built as a five-bay cattle shed in the late 19th century, the front being enclosed in the early 20th century to provide stables for working horses, with a wagon bay at one end, close to the house. The materials and construction are similar to the barn. Historic fixtures and fittings have been removed from the interior and there is a concrete floor. <2>