Barn At North Farm

A barn, dating from the mid to late 18th century with later 19th-century additions, is located north of the farmhouse on Shropham Road, Hockham. The cartlodge to the rear and the single-story shed connecting the barn to the farmhouse do not retain historic significance.

The barn is constructed using the 'shuttered earth' method with clay walls, set upon a flint and brick plinth, and externally treated with tar. The roof is covered in pantiles. The plan is rectangular with an outshot to the rear and a cartlodge.

The exterior features a gable roof, central double doors to the front and rear elevations, and a weatherboarded apex at the south gable end. A small outshot to the rear has shuttered clay walling on a brick plinth and may be later in date. A late 19th-century open-fronted cart shed stands further to the rear, supported by timber posts on concrete plinths. It has a timber-framed wall to the north and a brick and flint wall to the south, having been remodelled in the 20th century.

The interior contains no original fittings. The clay walls display evidence of the building’s construction phases. The softwood roof structure, likely from the early 19th century, is of modest quality, with a plank ridge piece, butt purlins, collars and tie beams. The tie beams have bolted arched or knee braces. Timber corbels slightly project beneath the arched braces to the wall plate at the rear entrance. The south gable end features late 19th or 20th-century thin framing and a concrete floor.

The barn and farmhouse appear on a 1798 Enclosure Map and an 1830 Estate Map. Ordnance Survey maps from 1883 and 1905 show the barn had been extended twice to the rear; the south gable end was rebuilt with thin timbers and weatherboard cladding. Later in the 20th century, surrounding farm outbuildings were demolished, leaving the farmhouse and barn largely intact.

The barn is a rare surviving example of an 18th-century clay-walled building, reflecting a vernacular technique with roots in the medieval period, and is substantially intact. It is designated at Grade II for its rarity, integrity, and comparison with similar vernacular structures nationally.