Cattle Sheds At Godwick Farm

The cattle sheds at Godwick Farm were built in 1883 for Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and feature minor alterations from the 20th century. Constructed from shuttered mass concrete, they are topped with a pantile roof. The complex is designed in an E-shape, facing south, and includes open shelter sheds, loose boxes, and areas for feed storage and preparation, which enclose east and west yards.

The south elevation has open shelter sheds to the west and north of the western yard, supported by thin iron columns and braced to iron king-post roof trusses with raking struts. The central range consists of two loose boxes of different sizes, with the larger one to the south, both accessed through west-facing split doors set within heavy pegged door frames. On either side of the southern door are 8-pane centre hinged iron casement windows. The central part of the northern section is blocked off, with an entry into a rear shelter shed on the west side, which may have served as a feed mixing room. The east range features an enclosed shed to the south, possibly a feed store or implement shed, with a central door in the south wall. There are also open sheds in the northern part and along the north rear wall of the eastern yard, with iron columns and roof detailing that match the eastern sheds.

This complex is notable as the only complete example of a farm complex in Norfolk built from shuttered concrete during its early usage. While a few cottages on the Holkham estate were constructed from shuttered concrete in the 1870s, very few examples exist nationally. The Godwick complex is a significant survival from an innovative estate building programme.