Building record BLX 019 - Stable, Stone Farm, Blaxhall

Stone Farm lies in open, arable countryside approximately 750 m south-west of Blaxhall parish church. At the time of the tithe survey in 1841 the farm was a substantial tenanted holding of 204 acres and the farmhouse appears to have been rebuilt shortly afterwards. The stable lies at the southern end of a large complex of contemporary brick yards and buildings that had been converted recently. The complex was shown on the Ordnance Survey of 1883 but not the tithe map of 1841 and was built in circa 1870 as a 'model' farm. The stable is a single-storied red-brick and pantiled structure on an east-west axis that extends to 22.25 m in length (73 ft). The interior is divided into five compartments which now accommodate horses but originally consisted of a cart shed or feed store, a narrow stall and three large loose boxes that were probably designed for bullocks. Each box opened onto a small yard to the south, of which no trace now survives, and was lit by a window and ventilated by a louver with adjustable slats. An original boarded manger survives in the narrow stall but the interior has otherwise been stripped of fixtures and fittings. While the complex as a whole would have been of historic interest prior to conversion, the 'stable' alone is not of special significance. It reflects the quality of the site's Victorian redevelopment but is not of sufficient age or rarity to merit listing (S1).