18th century barn and byre at Gray's Farm (EHER 82558)

Recording works were undertaken at Grays Farm in 2007, in advance of residential conversion of an 18th century barn and probable animal byre.

2007. Building survey. Recording works were undertaken at Grays Farm in advance of residential conversion of an 18th century barn and probable animal byre. The site was laid out on an L-shaped plan and retained in a 19th century courtyard plan, albeit overgrown and in a ruinous state. The barn contains many important original features and fixtures. It was built half boarded with the upper section daubed and plastered externally. Areas of daub survive on the exterior and also internally between framing. The boarding pre-dates the 19th century and may be original. Like many Essex barns, the roof would have been thatched. A daisy wheel magic mark is scribed into the plaster on the west wall, and a wooden threshing floor remains inside. Unfortunately, works to the barn carried out in the 1940s changed its original form by rebuilding the barn roof and lowering the porch. The animal byre was built fully boarded. It is largely unaffected by later works, except for a short 19th-century extension towards the barn. Its construction suggests a contemporary date to the barn and it retains an original roof frame and probable external boarding. The Victorian north and south ranges that enclosed the yard have virtually disappeared and only a few vestiges of the south range remain. The farm is typical of many improved mixed Essex farmsteads that expanded in the mid 19th century during the golden age of agriculture. Existing agricultural structures were incorporated into new yard layouts. However, the real significance of the farm lies in high survival rate of early build fabric and other features of the 18th century barn and byre. <1>