South Barn, Home Farm, Uppark, Harting, West Sussex

Summary

A storage barn with granary over, of around the late-C18, extended in the early to mid-C19 and C20.

Description

A storage barn with granary over, of around the late-C18, extended in the early to mid-C19 and C20.

MATERIALS: brick, flint and stone elevations, under a clay-tile roof.

PLAN: the building is U-shaped and is located towards the centre of the farmyard. Internally there are a number of storerooms to the ground floor, with a granary space above the two-storey eastern section.

EXTERIOR: the original L-shaped phase of the building faces east, with a return to the south. The elevations are built of brown brick over a plinth, laid in Flemish bond, with blue/grey headers aligned vertically in alternate courses. The cornice to the north and south comprises four courses of projecting brickwork, three of which are of moulded bricks. To the south side, it has a pair of tall, late-C19 or early-C20 stable doors under a midstrey decorated with hung tiles laid in a diamond pattern. A straight joint in the brickwork identifies the start of the early-C19 extension to the west which has a similar cornice. It has three openings under segmental, brick headers, which have C20 doors. The opening to the west end has been reduced in height under a concrete lintel. A bricked-up opening is evident towards the centre and the roof is hipped at the west end.
The upper part of the east elevation is covered by hung tiles laid in a diamond pattern, interrupted by a four-pane casement window and bricked-up door opening towards the south end. Towards the centre, there is a planked door and a three over six, sash window, which fronts an internal window of six panes. At the north end there are two pairs of planked, cart doors. Those to the right have glass panes to the upper section. The roof is hipped to the north end and has diamond-shaped patterns within the tiling.

The north elevation has four stone panels and a plinth of coursed rubble stone. The cornice is of four courses of brickwork and is interrupted by a C20, high-set eight pane casement window. To the right side, the brown-brick end wall of a mid-C19, lean-to is evident, which stands under a later extension of the C18, catslide roof. It has a louvered opening with concrete lintel and cill. The west face of the lean-to is constructed of coursed stone blocks. The visible rear of the C18 section is mainly constructed of knapped flint. There is a mid-C19, brick extension to the west end which stands under a lean-to roof of corrugated metal.

INTERIOR: the southern hip of the C18 roof structure is visible under the midstrey roof. A later, internal brick wall has a high-set opening into a first floor storage space, where the roof has three intermediate A-shaped trusses, each formed of a tie beam concealed in the floor and a collar. The common rafters are supported on staggered butt purlins, tenoned into the sides of the principal rafters. The form of the roof suggests that it was intended that the attic should be floored and the side walls are boarded with metal sheeting which may conceal earlier timber boarding or similar finishes. This space was probably used as a granary.

On the ground floor there are cart or stable spaces, divided by later brick pillars and a C20 floor frame has been installed. The spaces within the extensions are either bare-brick or rendered and the floors are either brick or cobbled. The roof above the early C19 extension is visible where one room has no ceiling and appears to be formed of multiple, light weight, sawn timbers.

History

South Barn appears as an L-shaped building on an unsigned plan of Uppark, produced around 1760, which may show buildings in existence or as proposed at that time. A moulded-brick eaves cornice suggests the extent of the original building which was probably a storage barn with granary over.

Around 1800 the building was extended to the west side, probably to provide more stabling and the original phase was subdivided. Towards 1850, a lean-to extension was added to the west side of the original phase and another to the rear of the early C19 extension. Around 1900 a gable end with tall cart doors was added to the south elevation of the original phase. In the mid-C20, wooden sheds were added across the rear. A number of openings have been infilled and new ones created.

The wider farmstead is of the loose courtyard type, surrounded by a boundary wall. It includes another storage barn, a cart shed, a brew house and a later milking parlour. This arrangement is characterised by working buildings arranged around one or more yards and is the dominant farmstead type in the south-east of England. These plans usually reflect a long process of piecemeal development with buildings of different dates, designs and materials, which may be reflected at Uppark in the use of brick, flint and chalk.

At Uppark, the improvements would have been influenced by the evolution of the estate, particularly on change of ownership. Construction of the current Uppark House is thought to have started around 1688 and was completed by the second half of 1695. An engraving by Jan Kip of around 1700, does not show any farm buildings in the location of Home Farm. Following acquisition of the estate by Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh and his new wife, Sarah Lethieullier, the property underwent major renovation and development in the period from 1747 until 1774. Contemporary records, and a plan suggest that the earliest Home Farm buildings were constructed around this time. A mid-C19 population survey records the Uppark Estate as made up of 5149 acres and employing 203 labourers.

In a more general sense, the period between 1750 to 1880 was an important period of farm building development, enabled by the widespread adoption of improved grasses and winter feed-crops. Within the south-east of England, flint combined with brick for quoins, dressings to windows and as banding within the flintwork is particularly characteristic of the C18 and early C19.

Reasons for Listing

South Barn, a storage barn with granary over, of around the late-C18, extended in the early to mid-C19 and C20, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a good example of a later C18 agricultural barn of considered design, which although altered in the later C19 and early C20, retains a significant proportion of its pre-1850 fabric;

* for the good quality brickwork including a moulded cornice and the carpentry and form of the granary roof, which allows the roof space to be used for crop storage.

Historic interest:

* as part of the extension and modernisation of farming practice at the Uppark Estate, around the time of what is internationally recognised as the most important period of farm building development in England.

Group value:

* with the speical historic faric of the park within which it is located, the other significant buildings within the farmstead, the dairy and the stables and Uppark house.

External Links

Historic England Listing

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