Description

CHILDERLEY

445/0/10018 CHILDERLEY HALL
21-FEB-07 Upper Farm

II
The Upper Farm, 1847
Long barn aligned east-west with central integral mill building and three large stock yards to the south.
The north range of the complex comprises the long barn, with the construction date of 1847 carved into a tie-beam adjacent to the east entrance bay. This impressive timber-framed barn is set on a brick plinth. The original slate roof has been restored and re-covered in part with 'Eternit' tiles. Reputed to be the second longest barn in England at 333ft (101m), it is divided into 29 bays broken by three sets of opposing doorways, those on the north side (which have replaced sliding doors), giving access to and from the former rickyard. On the south side of the barn, the two outer doorways are set into gabled porches which project out into the cattle yards. There are further original doors in the long elevations and west end gable, which also retains a sliding loading door at first floor level. On the north side of the barn adjacent to the central doors is a five sided weatherboarded annex with double doors on the west side and replaced corrugated iron roof. This annex originally housed a portable threshing machine. The tower-like structure projecting from the barn roof towards the east end was added in the C20 to house an elevator. The lower projection to the west is an original ventilation louver.

The roof of the barn comprises queen post trusses with shallow trenched purlins supported by wooden chucks. There are iron braces to the tie beams. The wall posts and tie beams are braced by concave braces and the occasional ogee brace. The walls of the barn have mid-rails and are strengthened with straight braces, four to each bay.

The south elevation of the barn is dominated by the centrally positioned three storey mill building which originally housed a fixed steam engine. This three bay brick structure projects out from the south wall of the barn into the central yard. The brick chimney in the angle between the mill and the barn was taken down in the second half of the C20 when steam power was replaced by an oil engine, but its lower courses are still visible. The roof of the mill is pitched up to the sides of a large water-tank, to which water was pumped from the moat around Childerley Hall to supply the engine boiler and from which water was pumped to all parts of the Upper Farm complex. The weight of this tank is carried on massive wrought iron 'I' section girders which also carry the floors below. Coal to power the engine was brought in by train and carted from Lord's Bridge Station.

The mill was originally lit from the south side by large arched windows, two to each storey, now bricked up except for the two on the ground-floor. The central bay is punctuated at first and second floor levels by two wooden doors, set in longer arched openings than the windows. On the ground-floor, a set of double doors opens into the yard from the west wall of the mill building. Inside, the east side of the ground-floor is partitioned off and there is a mounting for an engine. The boiler would have been located adjacent to this. The north side of the mill was originally open into the central bay of the long barn (this opening is now partially blocked). Grain was taken up from the barn to the upper floors of the mill via a hoist and later an elevator which passed through the door at first-floor level. A wooden staircase rises to the first and second floors of the mill and a hatch in the first-floor ceiling and various grooves cut into the timbers indicate where belt drives were taken off line shafts from the engine to work processing machines located in the mill and in the central bays of the barn. Operations powered by the steam engine would have included chaff processing, the milling different types of grain, chopping of roots such as turnips and swedes and the breaking up of oil cake. The central bays of the barn were traditionally used for chaff cutting and storage and the outer bays for the storage of barley straw.

Stock yards and shelter sheds:
Set out against the south wall of the long barn are three yards, the central yard is dominated by the mill building and originally provided housing for the working horses, though most of the ranges around the yard have been or are in the process of being converted to other uses, principally office space. The outer yards were for cattle (cows and bullocks) and were originally enclosed by open-fronted shelter sheds aligned north-south, with short ranges of closed cattle housing in the form of loose boxes along the south side and lean-to shelter sheds against the south side of the long barn, infilling between the projecting barn porches. A gate placed centrally in the south range gave access to the yards. The shelter sheds are of brick construction, the outer ranges having solid brick walls and manger. The roofs have king-post trusses. Adjacent to the external wall of the west cattle yard is a slurry collection point, from which slurry drained from centrally placed cisterns in the yards was removed for spreading on the surrounding fields.

The shelter sheds around the yards are generally of nine bays, and in original form were fronted by arcades with wooden posts set on brick bases. The front of each bay is spanned by a gently curving beam, a feature which appears in all of the shelter sheds on the farm. In the west yard, these open bays have been filled in to create office space, though the original open layout and roof structure has been retained inside. Roof coverings have been replaced with concrete tiles or slate in the most recent conversions. In the east yard, the east range has been largely demolished and the west range re-roofed, with the open bays filled in with breeze blocks.

To the east of the long barn and courtyard complex is a flanking range of contemporary buildings, comprising two semi-detached houses with attached joiner's workshop and forge behind, a cartlodge and granary.

Cartlodge:
This elaborate building comprises a double storey central range of four bays, open to the west, with hipped roof and aisle to the rear. There is a lower two bay section to the south which is attached to the farm workers houses. To the north of the central range is a lower three bay range comprising two open bays, with the northern hipped bay closed off with a sliding door (modern replacement) and now used as a garage. The posts of the central section of the cartlodge sit on brick piers. The roof trusses are queen posts with through purlins wedged with chucks and ogee braces to the tie-beams, the latter reinforced with iron straps. The trusses to the hips at each end of the four bay section have straight braces to the tie beams with princess struts and a further set of princess struts above the tie beams. The building is impressive in the quality of its construction, the sheer quantity of timber used and the decorative effect of the ogee shaped braces and princess struts.

Granary:
To the north of the cartlodge is the granary, the original gap between the two buildings having been filled with a more recent weatherboarded shed. The granary is a rectangular building raised on cast iron staddle stones. In keeping with the adjacent buildings, it is timber framed and clad in weatherboarding, with a slate hipped roof. The original timber door in the west elevation is reached up steps formed by engineering bricks arranged in semi-circles. The door is flanked by louvered windows. Each of the long sides has two louvered windows, with one window to the east elevation. Inside, the floor is timber and planking survives in part on the walls. It is now used for general storage.

Farm workers housing, carpenter's workshop and forge:
Attached to the cartlodge is a pair of semi-detached houses, brick built with slate roofs. Most of the windows have been replaced with modern UPVC units though some internal features, such as staircases, survive inside. The outbuildings to the rear are largely unaltered. These houses were originally built for the foreman and gardener.

At the east end of the cottages and adjoining them is a carpenter's workshop with original work benches. To the rear is a forge complete with brick chimney, in situ bellows and other fittings. All of these buildings are in brick, with slate roofs over king post trusses.

History:
The long barn at Childerley Hall Upper Farm is inscribed with a date of 1847 and documentary evidence confirms this. An advert in The Times dated 1853 describes both farms as 'consisting of six yards, with the requisite barns, stabling, threshing machine'.

Assessment of importance:
A largely complete, well documented and distinguished example of a model farmstead dating to the mid-C19. It illustrates developments in farm planning at the beginning of the period of 'High Farming' and incorporates unusual and innovative design features including an exceptionally long barn with integral mill building and slurry drainage system.

Sources:
Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest (English Heritage), entry for Childerley Hall (site ref.1605), updated 2001
C Jenkins, Tales of Childerley (2002, Childerley Publishing)
Victoria County History, Cambridgeshire & the Isle of Ely, Vol.IX (1989), pp 39-45
N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Cambridgeshire (1970), p321

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671220

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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