Late 19th century stable, Gate Farm (EHER 81643)

A red brick, single-storey farm building which forms the SE corner of a farmyard at Gate Farm. It originally consisted of three main spaces; North, middle and South. The Southern space was mostly demolished in the mid 20th century, and just one wall remains. It was probably originally a stable but has since been converted for residential use. It retains some original features.

January 2020. Heritage assessment. A red brick, single-storey former farm building, aligned NW-SSE and located at the SE corner of Gate Farm. It originally consisted of three main spaces: North, middle and South. The Southern space was mostly demolished in the mid 20th century, and is recorded in EHER 81883. The remaining middle and North spaces are extant and were recorded prior to conversion. The whole building was probably originally a stable with a wing of stalls to the North and South, either side of a central store room. The remaining extant building has a slate roof with red tile ridge and is gabled to the North and South elevations. At the South end, in the West elevation is a recessed covered porch with four doors to the interior, one of which leads to the demolished Southern room. The door to the Northern room is an original, boarded, two-part door with a three-pane window above. The roof over the porch is supported by a timber beam with chamfer detail. On the East elevation are four metal 'X' shaped tie-ends and the opposing 'X' shaped ends can be seen also on the West elevation. Internally, the building has been given a modern finish but some original features remain. The South wall retains a fitting used for tethering animals and has evidence of a former whitewashed finish. The smaller 'middle' room retains its original brick floor. The roof has been replaced with modern timbers. This stable and the other associated brick-built agricultural structures on the site represent a rapid, planned expansion of the farm as a result of changing farming practices in the mid 19th century. It formed part of an extensive and well-planned model farm and was constructed in around 1870. It adjoined a, now demolished, cart shed (EHER 81884) to form the SE corner of the farm yard area, with the cart shed forming the Southern boundary. Due to changing modern agricultural practice, the building has fallen out of use, and, due to the demolition of the cart shed and other buildings on the farm, is now somewhat isolated. Despite this, it remains as a well built structure with potential for reuse. <2>