19th stables at 16 The Square, Stock (EHER 80760)

Mid 19th century stables built to service the Bear Inn.

September 2018. Level 3 building survey. The stables was built between 1839 and 1874 as part of the business of the Bear Inn. It was a large, well appointed building with at least four stables with up to ten stalls. Originally, it may have had cart houses accessed from the eastern side. With boundary changes, the eastern side was bricked up and piecemeal changes made following the business of the pub. It appears that horses were still kept into the late 20th century as the mangers and stalls were painted and repaired. Finally the building was relegated to use as a store and allowed to fall into disrepair. Notwithstanding the fact that the building is not shown on the 1839 Tithe Award map and another smaller building is, none of the brickwork predates this period. The frame is made up of a reassembled 17th century butt purlin roof that has been renumbered throughout and fixed with ironwork as well as replacement oversized pegs. All the internal walls and brick floors appear original to that era. The hayloft over Stable 1 at the north is likely original as the later insertions use well finished softwood timbers rather than quarter poles and thick elm boards. Larger panels suggest there were cart entrances on the eastern side as well as lower loading doors under thin timber lintels. Why it is set out into the pond is uncertain, but often wagons were driven purposefully into ponds to tighten the joints in the wheels and water the horses. The mapping shows that two buildings were added to the north of the building and then were removed between the 1922 OS map and the 1930s photograph. The stables were reformatted in the late 19th century with the addition of well made timber partitions to form stalls, corner mangers and internal gates to guide the horses. The centrally placed Stable 2 had the hayloft removed and the ceiling raised and rebuilt with softwood joists and lath and plaster (later replaced with tongue and grooved boards). The partition wall was altered to increase the size of Stable 3 and to provide opening doors between the stalls and an upper door to the hayloft over Stable 3. Stables 3 was turned at right angles to the others and a drop created such that the hay could be raked straight down into the hay racks. The roof was replaced with corrugated asbestos in the mid 20th century. It can be seen from the painting of the mangers and hay racks that some of the stalls continued in use for horses into the 20th century. It was relatively common for people to own and ride horses into the 1970s and even 1980s. After then, horses lost their value but were very expensive to keep. The building was then relegated to a store. Stable 3 was wired inside to create a secure store - a feature quite often seen in pub outbuildings. <1>