Seventeenth century timber framed bay and early 19th century timber framed granary, at Curd Hall Farm, Coggeshall (EHER 80228)

An early 19th century timber-framed and weatherboarded granary of six bays which extends by 12.5 m (41ft) from the weathered Northern gable of a 17th century timber-framed bay. Both buildings were converted in the 20th century and precise analysis of the buildings' original configurations is hampered by the extent of the conversion.

April 2016. Heritage assessment. An early 19th century timber-framed and weatherboarded granary of six bays which extends by 12.5m from the weathered Northern gable of a 17th century timber-framed bay. The upper storey of the granary has been converted, with modern windows and a central plaster-board partition, but retains the heavy inverted knee-braces typical of granaries of this period. There is evidence in the form of nail holes of a missing lath-and-plaster ceiling beneath the collars of the clasped-purlin roof, extending to the slope of the rafters beneath, which is also consistent with the building’s interpretation as a granary - grain floors were usually plastered to minimise dirt and dust. The heavy-sectioned, chamfered ceiling joists of the lower storey, which offers ground clearance of only 2m (and in places less), may have been re-used from elsewhere, but there is little evidence of re-use in the wall framing. A secondary trap in the centre of the ceiling presumably contained a trap door and sack hoist. A pair of WCs with plasterboard partitions have been inserted to the South of the otherwise undivided space, beneath the external stair to the upper storey (which is modern but may have replaced an original external granary stair). Precise analysis of the building’s original configuration is hampered by the extent of its conversion. The southern bay of the timber-framed and weatherboarded granary is a 17th century structure extending to 5.5m wide by 2.6m long on an approximately N-S axis. It appears to have formed the Northern end of a building of 1.5 storeys that once extended further South towards the rebuilt service bay of the farmhouse, which it would have adjoined at right-angles. The external wall of its Northern gable is exposed on the upper storey of the granary, its tie-beam cut by a secondary central door, and its fully framed timbers are heavily weathered. The projecting ends of both roof-plates are also weathered. The lower storey currently forms a storage shed entered from the West, and the first floor contains the kitchen and additional WC of the function room into which the entire building was converted in the late 20th century. <1>