The Coach House and Stables at Little Barford

The Coach House and Stables at Little Barford

A combined coach house and stables with grooms' accommodation and hay lofts above, built around 1870 and likely contemporary with the associated Manor House. Its architect is unknown but may be the work of John Usher or his office.

The building is constructed of gault brick with red brick details, with pitched roofs covered in plain tiles. It is arranged on a horseshoe plan around a central yard, facing east, and stands two storeys high with pitched roofs and gables at either end of the north and south wings. The outer corners have rusticated brick quoins, and there is a continual cornice of cogged red brickwork. All window and door openings have chamfered jambs.

The outermost parts of the eastern elevations are the two gable ends of the north and south ranges. These each have loading doors at first floor level, while the southern gable also has a hinged hoist for historically loading hay. Between the two gables the three-sided courtyard contains the coach house at its centre, indicated by three pairs of wooden doors beneath a single continuous wooden lintel, with a single doorway to the left. At first floor the coach house has two three-over-six sash windows and a loading door. On the north side of the courtyard is the surviving stable range, with a central doorway at ground floor and boarded windows on each side. At first floor of the stable range is a single three-over-six sash window. The south side of the courtyard has a blocked arch at ground floor (possibly a cart store when originally constructed), a wide central door, an eight-over-eight sash window, and an internal porch. At first floor there is a single three-over-six sash.

The north elevation projects outwards slightly for four bays at ground floor where the horse stalls were extended during the period of construction. Each stall is indicated by a Diocletian window with a red brick arch. A fifth bay with a further window is flush with the east wall. At first floor there are two three-over-six sash windows.

The west elevation is simpler and none of the detailing uses the contrasting red brick found on the more prominently visible elevations. At ground floor there are three Diocletian windows (one boarded) and two six-over-six sashes. At first floor there are three three-over-six sashes. At the right-hand side is a small projection for an outdoor WC added after the primary phase of construction.

The south elevation has a single-cell projecting beneath a mono-pitched roof with an arched entrance on the east side, forming part of the original structure. At ground floor there is a single Diocletian window, and at the left-hand side is a doorway and the entrance to the outdoor WC.

The stables retain their four original horse stalls, each roughly 2.4 metres by 3.3 metres in area with a brick floor with central drain, panelled sides, a water trough and an iron manger. The partitions between each stall have a railing at head height. Each stall retains its original door with ball finials on top of the door posts. There is space for a shorter stall at the west end, now occupied by a staircase. Within the open volume of the hayloft are two free-standing spaces: a small office and a single room. A hatch in the hayloft floorboards shows where hay would have been dropped down. The roof structure is formed of king post trusses, all of which are fully visible in this area.

The coach house itself is a single interior space behind three pairs of wooden doors, with a brick floor and a lath and plaster ceiling. It adjoins a stair compartment with a staircase that has no balustrade and a simple handrail. At ground floor, next to the stairs, is a panelled tack room with a cast iron range, boarded floor and original cupboards. Around the upper part of the walls are short wooden rails for use as saddle racks and storing other tack. At first floor, above the coach house and tack room, are domestic features including a surviving fireplace and a 1960s kitchen. The plan of this area upstairs, likely used as accommodation for grooms, is largely unaltered. At the north end of the first floor is a room with a loading door facing onto the yard, containing an opening in the floor which communicates directly with the interior of the stables, acting as a speaking tube.

The ground floor of the southern range comprises stores and a room with brick floors matching those of the stable wing but later altered with concrete blocks to accommodate an engine or generator. The loft above this area could not be accessed for inspection.