Farm Buildings Eling Farm, Including Tack Room And Coach House, Granary With Bullock House, Stables And Attached Barn, Long Threshing Barn, And Building To Northeast Of Barn

Farm buildings at Eling Farm, Hampstead Norreys, ranging in date from around 1825 to the late 19th century. The group comprises five distinct structures arranged around courtyards to the north of the farmhouse, and represents a remarkably complete ensemble of agricultural buildings from the period.

Materials throughout are primarily red brick with some weatherboarding, and clay tile roofs. The earliest buildings shown on the 1842 tithe map—the long stable and large threshing barn—form a courtyard to the north of the farmhouse. Later 19th-century additions create a smaller yard within the larger courtyard.

The tack room and coach house stands to the northwest of the farmhouse and dates from the late 19th century, representing a remodelling or rebuilding of an earlier structure (pre-1877). It is a single-storey building of red brick with a pitched tiled roof and small tile-hung cross gable. The cross gable features a thermal window, while the northwest gable contains timber carriage doors and a hayloft door.

The granary with bullock house beneath and attached animal shelters dates from the late 19th century and is arranged on an L-plan forming a small inner courtyard to the south of the main yard. The granary is weatherboarded and stands one storey above a semi-basement, with a half-hipped roof. Segmental-headed basement windows open on the outer sides, with a lower extension to the south featuring a hipped roof. The former bullock house below opens into the yard. An attached single-storey animal shelter on the northeast side is constructed in red brick with a hipped tiled roof and gablet. This structure has a central gabled entrance and segmental-headed windows on its north elevation, curved returns into the yard, and large timber doors. A detached stable on the same alignment features a hipped roof with curved returns on the west end, gabled on the east side with rounded hips to the curved west side. The weatherboarded south elevation facing the yard contains stable doors.

The stables and attached barn stand to the northeast of the farmhouse as a long range aligned north-south. The stable block dates from the early to mid-19th century and is constructed in red brick laid in Flemish bond with some burnt headers. It is single-storey with a hayloft above, featuring segmental-headed doors and windows, dentilled eaves, and a pitched tiled roof with gables to the hayloft doors. Some timber stall divisions remain in situ. The interior contains chamfered beams and joists with a roof featuring curved struts and boarded dividers. To the north is a 5-bay aisled threshing barn dating from the mid-19th century, constructed in red brick laid in English bond with a half-hipped tiled roof and queen-post truss roof.

The long threshing barn aligned east-west stands on the north side of the main courtyard and dates from the early to mid-19th century, with a tie-beam in the barn dated 1839. The barn comprises 8 bays constructed in red brick laid in English bond, with weatherboard cladding to a later 19th-century cross gable on the south side. It features a steep tile roof with half-hips and contains 19th-century mechanical threshing gear. A pentice forms a shelter along the southeast side. Extending southwards at 90 degrees to the barn is a long, narrow cattle shelter. An attached cartshed stands at the east end of the barn with a hipped roof, open on its east side.

The building to the northeast of the barn is a rectangular structure, possibly a loose box, dating from the late 19th century. It is built in red brick laid in English bond with decorative sawtooth brickwork to the gable and a pitched roof. It features 4 segmental-headed doors.

Eling Farm is thought to have existed for at least 500 years. The old farmhouse was demolished in 1825, and the earliest of the present buildings shown on the 1842 tithe map are the farmhouse, the large stable and barn. The barns were originally built for hand threshing, which continued well into the 19th century in West Berkshire. Their form remained essentially unchanged from the medieval period. This group of buildings typifies the improvements made to farmsteads during the mid to late 19th century, influenced by the 'model farm' principle, and has group value with the farmhouse of circa 1825-30.