Barns at Rectory Farm House, Kettering Road, Walgrave, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom

The work was carried out according to the Written Scheme of Investigation (Section 2), which required: " A historic building assessment, with recording to Historic England Level 3 (HE 2016). Rectory Farm is located some located 2.5km northeast of the centre of Walgrave. Its name suggests that it was the farm that supported the rectory, but no documentary evidence for the origins of the farm survive. The structural evidence indicates a mid-late 19th century construction date for the oldest outbuildings, with Barn 1 being the first building to be constructed shortly followed by the adjoining structures to north and south. The original layout provided a threshing barn opposite the farmhouse with an open fronted building on either side of the barn beyond which were further enclosed buildings. This provided shelter for livestock and equipment and the two yards allowed for further livestock management. A platform was built for the threshing machine to the west of the barn in what is now a covered yard. The crop management is hinted at by the hayloft doors and the metal posts that held iron bars that traversed the barn and provided support for the harvest. The changes to the buildings appear to have occurred in the first quarter of the 20th century when the west wall of the present stables was rebuilt, the dairy was added to the west end of Barn 2 and the stall was created in the formerly open fronted structure to the south of the threshing barn. The internal wall in Barn 3 appears to have removed at this time as the brickwork of the runnel that runs the entire length of the barn is very similar to that in the stall and the stables, as are the hit and miss windows and the doors. The two roofs covering the southern yard as well as the west wall providing the gable ends were erected at the same time. Building 1, the steel framed structure, was added in the mid-20th century to act as a grain store. The most recent alterations have been to Barn 2 whish have taken placed within the last few years. The bullnosed brickwork indicating the open fronted nature of the east wall have been retained and windows installed in the former openings. The south wall has been re-worked and an extension added to the western end. The alterations to the buildings can provide an insight into the changes in the way the farm has functioned over time. Initially constructed to provide facilities for arable and livestock farming in a period where mechanisation was available but largely limited to easing the more laborious elements of crop processing, the buildings evolved to allow for more intensive farming practices before being redeployed for non-farming purposes. Building 1 has become a vehicle repair shop and Barn 2 was intended to be converted for more residential purposes. The beauty of the site is that its historical development can still be read in the many characteristic features that have survived.

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