Park Farm Mill And Granary, Now Forming North West Block Of Bloomsbury Stud

The building is a former mill and granary, dating back to the late 18th century. It now forms the northwest block of Bloomsbury Stud. It was originally part of Park Farm, a model farm begun in 1795 by Robert Salmon, who was the resident architect and 'mechanist' for the estate of Francis, 5th Duke of Bedford. The building was damaged by fire in 1834 and subsequently rebuilt and extended. It is constructed of mottled red brick with dressings in gauged yellow brick, and has slate roofs. The main rectangular block is two-storeyed, with a single-storeyed block projecting to the north. The architectural style is a slightly rustic Neoclassical. The west elevation is asymmetrical, with a hipped roof to the right-hand end, and two slightly projecting gables of two storeys and attics, one to the left and the other off-centre. The gables have doorways with flanking sidelights, and the sidelights, the semi-circular attic windows, and the three-light casements have ornamental geometric glazing bars. Doors are plank construction, with some parts being glazed. A single-storeyed block to the left of the main block has a plank door and a three-light casement. The building has deep eaves and verges with moulded timber cornices. The interior retains mill machinery, likely a 19th-century replacement of the original design by Salmon, along with a 25 horsepower gas engine from 1895 manufactured by Crossley Brothers of Manchester. None of the machinery is currently in use. The 5th Duke of Bedford was deeply interested in estate management and agricultural development, and Park Farm was intended to showcase new agricultural technologies. The farm was the location of the annual Woburn Sheep Shearing, an event depicted in a painting by George Garrard in 1804 and an engraving of the same subject. Plans and elevations of the mill, dating from the late 18th to later 19th centuries, are held at the Bedfordshire Record Office.