Rudham Grange Farm Barn

A farm complex dating from the late 18th century, with additions circa 1800, the late 19th, and early 20th centuries. Built for the Raynham estate, the buildings are constructed of brick and flint, sometimes used together, and have pantile roofs. The complex is L-shaped, comprising a barn, stables, and cart lodges. The barn, aligned north-south, has stables and cart lodges extending westwards, and an engine house lean-to against its north gable. Further cart lodges are against the barn's south gable. The barn’s east-facing front elevation has four double doorways leading to threshing floors, with three bays to the south being a later addition. Between each doorway are two rectangular ventilators made of honeycomb brickwork, one above the other, all set beneath segmental arches and dentilled eaves. The north gable has an engine house lean-to with four cast iron framed windows and a pentice canopy to a blocked first-floor hoist door. The south gable has a three-bay cart lodge in a lean-to with a half-hipped roof. The west rear elevation features a long lean-to containing fourteen loose boxes, each with a split stable door. The south elevation showcases three-storied stables with a central tower beneath a pyramidal roof, originally with two arched openings on either side, now altered. Inside the barn, the roof is supported by 19th-century king post trusses, now containing 20th-century grain silos. The stables’ central tower has a staircase leading to granaries and a haystore above. The west end of the stable range contains two riding horse stables with timber and iron partitions. A five-bay cart lodge has wooden arcade posts carrying curved braces bolted to tie beams of queen strut trusses. The engine house contains a belting hole and an in-situ cake-crushing machine. The farm was visited circa 1804 by Arthur Young, who was impressed by the threshing machine and granary above, and steam-driven machinery was observed by R.N. Bacon 40 years later. The barn is one of the largest to survive in Norfolk. The four threshing floors indicate a high output from the extensive and progressive farm, along with the need for generous stabling for working horses.