Early 19th century barn at Garnetts Farm, Mashbury Road, Great Waltham (EHER 80850)

A typical threshing barn of the Napoleonic War period.

February 2022. Level 2 building survey. Historic mapping shows that a building was on site in 1805 and was more clearly mapped in 1839 in the same position as today but not as long and without porches. The primary braced frame with nailed, interrupted studwork is typical of around 1800, when many thrashing barns were erected as a reaction to the grain embargoes imposed during the Napoleonic War. The building was substantially remodelled in the late 19th century when the older frames were raised at the walls with short studs and extra top-plates to increase the volume and reset the roof. This is not an unusual modification in that period and the Victorians also did away with hanging knees and replaced them with curved spandrels as an aesthetic improvement as well as stiffening the frame more effectively. Some of the storey posts have deep jowls which are easier to brace with spandrels. Around the 1840s, the barn was doubled in size and two porches added to improve the thrashing capacity. The floors were laid with asphalt – a desirable feature that helped with providing a flat impermeable surface to work on. How much of the original frame is left is not possible to ascertain. From 1800, while there are certainly reused timbers, none can be confirmed as being in-situ. The wall frames have been remodelled in the 1839 – 1876 period and no doubt reused much of the timber from the earlier, shorter building. The modern rebuild is extensive and well executed. The barn represents the farming improvements made during the Napoleonic War and again in the Victorian High Farming period. Design elements remain from both periods but late 20th century remodelling has reduced the significance of the frame to only a few registers and the frame of the remaining porch. <1>