Church Farm – Repairs January 1949

1. Request to carry out works
2. The specifications
3. Plan referenced in the specifications
4. Comments
   1. 1-3a – Stabling
   2. 4 – Stock housing
   3. 5 – East section of barn
   4. 6 – The Barn
   5. 7-9 – Outhouses
   6. 10 – Animal housing
   7. 11 – Animal housing
   8. 12 – Shed with double doors
   9. 13-16 – Outbuildings
   10. House
5. Authorisation to carry out the specified repairs
6. Footnotes
7. Navigation

Request to carry out works

Image courtesy of Lambeth Palace Library

The specifications

Image courtesy of Lambeth Palace Library

Plan referenced in the specifications

Image courtesy of Lambeth Palace Library

Comments

1-3a – Stabling

Still extant.

4 – Stock housing

Rebuilt subsequent to these repairs.

“Repair brickwork under doors to stackyard and crew yard¹“.

5 – East section of barn

• “Strip thatch and re-roof in corrugated asbestos”.
• “Repair face of dwarf brick walls in concrete.”
• “Splice R.H. post and set in concrete.”

The above three works are still evident in 2025.

6 – The Barn

Still extant

“Strip all thatch … recover with corrugated asbestos”. This is still the roof covering in 2025.
“Fill up rat holes in W. wall.”
“Excavate for and lay concrete floor, finished in cement, and sand trowelled smooth including portion at East end.” This task is referenced in the accompanying letter – see above – where the tenant agreed to make a contribution.

7-9 – Outhouses

No longer extant in 2025, and not shown in the aerial photo of circa 1980 presented here.

10 – Animal housing

No longer extant in 2025, although it is shown in the aerial photo of circa 1980 presented here.

“Break away loose and perished clunch² and fill in ratholes”.

11 – Animal housing

No longer extant in 2025, although it is shown in the aerial photo of circa 1980 presented here.

12 – Shed with double doors

Still extant in 2025.

“West door to yard: Provide and fix new frame with slatted vent over”. Still extant in 2025.

13-16 – Outbuildings

No longer extant in 2025, although they are shown in the aerial photo of circa 1980 presented here.

House

This is not shown on the plan attached to the specification. The description of works required starts on page 4 of the document included above.

Authorisation to carry out the specified repairs

The following memo dated January 25^th 1949 recorded that the Estates and Finance Committee had agreed that these works could proceed – subject to the tenant (Mr. F.T.M. Hurrell) paying 5% interest p.a. on £125-1-0 by means of an increase in the rent paid to the Church Commissioners of £32. This sum had been offered by the tenant in the original application – see the top of this page.

Image courtesy of Lambeth Palace Library

Footnotes

1. A Crew Yard is an open yard for keeping cattle during the winter – marked as “E Yard” on the above plan. ↩︎
2. Clunch is a traditional building material of chalky limestone rock used mainly in eastern England. Clunch distinguishes itself from other forms of limestone by being softer in character when cut, and may resemble chalk in lower density, or with minor clay-like components. (Wikipedia)
   It sometimes refers to low a quality material, but has also been used in cathedral and church building – such as the south porch at Deopham church. ↩︎

Navigation

Date	Change
30/3/25	Published – IMG_20231107_164629