Barn At Broadhurst Manor

Probably built in the early 17th century and altered in the 18th and 20th centuries, the barn at Broadhurst Manor was likely originally constructed for industrial manufacture, later converted into a barn and now used as stabling. The building is timberframed with red brick infill, set upon a deep 19th-century brick plinth in English bond. The front elevation features central wooden cart doors and weatherboarding above, with three triangular buttresses in English bond brickwork. The rear and sides are weatherboarded. The roof is thatched, with an underlayer of heather and/or wood shavings, a relatively rare survival. The barn is three bays wide. The rear elevation has a steeply pitched roof with weatherboarding and stone rubble. The left side has an early 20th-century clock face with three bells.

The original plan comprised a single bay and two bays on each main floor, with evidence of a large opening, approximately five feet six inches by eleven feet, for access between floors in the southwest corner. There was a single attic room in each bay, lit by a dormer window; the framed iron trimmers remain, along with glazed windows in each end gable. Original entrances included a large doorway in the double bay room and a smaller door into the single bay room, with an internal door between rooms on each floor. External access was provided by a single large door into a double bay room. A large opening in the corner of the double room likely facilitated the movement of large items between floors.

The roof is of dropped tie beam construction, with in-line butt purlins clasped at the gable ends and rafters covered in thatch. Mid-20th-century stall partitions are present with larch poles. Internally, much of the original 17th-century timber framing of the front, rear and right side walls above ground floor level survives, although some replacement timbers are present in the left-hand bay on the ground floor.

The property was owned by the Lewkner family in the late 16th and 17th centuries. Evidence suggests it was not originally an agricultural building, including the presence of glazed windows, the absence of heating, and the large openings on each floor, suggesting an industrial purpose, possibly associated with an iron furnace for manufacturing iron goods. The barn appears to have been converted in the 18th century, as evidenced by the two outshuts of that date.