Mid 19 Century Cart House Cattle Sheds Stables Barn And Waggon Lodge (With Granary Over) To East Of Egmere Farmhouse

A mid-19th century farmstead complex, built between 1851 and 1860 by G.A. Dean, architect, for the Holkham Estate. The buildings are constructed of brick with slate and pantile roofs, the barn being the exception.

The farmstead is arranged in a complex of separate blocks to the east and west of Egmere Farmhouse. To the east, a barn and stables form the west side of a central enclosed stack yard, the south side of which is enclosed by a waggon lodge with a granary above. To the west are six cattle yards, originally back-to-back, and divided by two rows of loose boxes, with end turnip houses.

The east block consists of a barn, possibly with earlier elements, now re-roofed and with a blocked threshing door. Adjoining the barn to the south are stables, facing the roadway. The stable is divided into four units, each with a central doorway flanked by windows. Rear walls have pitching holes that served from the stackyard. The waggon lodge on the south side of the stackyard has seven bays on either side of a wide central stairway. The barn interior has a concrete wall inserted around 1870, and is roofed with shouldered king post trusses. The stable interior retains original fittings, including feeding troughs and mangers, indicative of horse stalling across the gable. Harness rooms are along the rear wall, flanking a central chaff box. The granary above the waggon lodge retains grain bins on the east side and a trap door and lifting gear to the west.

The west block’s cattle yards have had their dividing walls removed, leaving three large yards, each with a shelter shed to the north featuring an arcaded front with cast-iron columns. Ranges of sunken loose boxes (eight on each side of a central passage) are on the south side of the two northerly yards, with a feed passage and turnip house opening onto the roadway. To the north of the cattle range are four outward-facing cartlodges, flanking a turnip house, and to the south, a trap house, riding horse stable, and poultry houses. The loose boxes have stall dividers and mangers, some of which have been repositioned. These roofs are supported by shouldered king post trusses.

The farmstead exemplifies the work of a notable specialist architect and is one of only four surviving farmsteads designed by Dean. It is notable for its functional character, contrasting with his more embellished designs for the home farms at Windsor and Holkham. The farmstead retains its largely unaltered form and illustrates the quality of farmsteads built during the “High Farming” era.