Building record NRN 037 - Stable building at Haydons, Little Green

The farmhouse incorporates a parlour block of c.1600, at the east end. Its east gable end is constructed of brick with a chimney stack and a number of significant decorative features. A large recessed panel passes across the centre of the chimney stack, and appears to have been a painted window. In addition there are much smaller real windows, lighting stairs, and closets. The brickwork would have been ruddled (pink-painted) and there are remains of a mesh of black diapering which covered the whole wall.

The remainder of the house was reconstructed in c.1700, plainly but strongly in timber framing. It implies that the house had not been built in a single phase in c1600 bu that it retained parts of a smaller, probably medieval farmhouse. This absent phase could be called a 'ghost house' and strongly suggests the site has medieval origins. This reconstruction probably took place at the same time as the stable was built; however the roof design is quite different although contemporary.

The stable was constructed in c.1700 with four bays of timber framing. This was subdivided with a single compartment at the east end and a three bay compartment at the west end.. There was a continuous loft along the entire building but with walls only about another 1m high. The roof structure is one of the more significant parts of the heritage asset, although only the eastern half remains standing. It is designed in four bays of principal rafter trusses with windbraced butt-purlins, from which we can date the building to about the early 18th century. The internal trusses were built without tiebams, to give easy access to the full length of the loft. The trusses were tied by binding beams in the loft floor. The western half of the roof collapsed in the late 20th century, leaving one intermediate truss still standing. Some of the rest of the rood are lying within the buildings. The roof has oak rafters of slightly deep and narrow profile, pegged down to the ourlins. Shaped oak sprockets are nailed to the feet of the rafters, giving an open eaves which still survives along part on the south elevation. It is likely that the roof was originally plaintiled or thatched, but it is now pantiled. The first floor sturcutre is aslo divided into four bays with massive chamfered oak binding beams. These are now built into the brickwork of the front and back walls, but at one point there is full integration with the post of the timber-framed walling. The upper level of walling remains timber-framed, with midrails tenoned to principal posts. Rising, from the posts are primary braces up to the wallplates. The quality of original carpentry is good for the 18th century, but many of the components are now degraded by rot or entirely missing. There is a small area of lath and plaster clinging to the framing of the north wall. It incorporates herringbone pargetting of 18th century character and may represent the original finish of the upper walls. It has been tarred, probably in the 19th century. There are two doorways in the north wall. The right-hand one may be original, but both are integrated with 19th century brickwork. The eatsern compartment of the loft was partitioned off at the second stage. The loft contains the remains of fitted grain bins and therefore therefore there has been a granary here since then, with a large door in the upper east gable giving access to it, but there was at first a simple hayloft extending the full length of the building. Among other 19th century changes, the loft floor beneath the granary was reconstructed leaving the binding beams in place with their redundant joints for floor joists, and in one case for a partition. Both east and west gable end walls give evidence for primary-braced studding like the surviving framing in the north and south walls (S1).