Stables at Little Horwood Manor

The stables range was built between 1938 and 1939 by A S G Butler for Little Horwood Manor, which was designed as a hunting box. The stables are constructed of dark buff/brown brick with stone detailing and red tile roofs. They have a quadrangular plan and stand west of Little Horwood Manor. The front and rear ranges are two storeys high, while the side ranges are single-storey. The stables feature central gateway entrances to the front and rear, with a clock tower rising from the ridgeline. Tower-like projections with pyramidal roofs at each corner give the building a distinctive appearance. The complex originally provided four flats, presumably for grooms and servants, as well as 14 or more loose boxes. The complex was commissioned in 1938 by George Gee, an industrialist associated with Gee Walker Slater (GWS), a major engineering and building firm. The site was chosen for its elevated position near Little Horwood village and Manor Farm. It was intended as a hunting box, reflecting Gee's support of the Whaddon Chase Hunt. During World War II, the stables were used to house Italian Prisoners-of-War. After the war, Little Horwood Manor and its stables were sold and subdivided; the stables were converted into four residential units. The stable block is a notable feature of the hunting box complex and shares materials and design themes with the main house. Despite subsequent subdivision and residential conversion, the external facades remain largely unaltered, making the stables essential to the overall identity of the complex.