Medieval stables at Abbey Farm

Details

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FAVERSHAM
ABBEY FIELDS
Medieval stables at Abbey Farm

(Formerly listed as: ABBEY FIELDS, Stables about 60 metres east south east of Abbey Farmhouse)

GV
II*
Stable. C14 or C15, extended to the south east in early C19. Built as part of the Home Farm of Faversham Abbey. Three bays remaining of a larger structure which certainly extended further eastwards and may also have extended further westwards, extended to the east in the early C19.

Timber framed, clad in weatherboarding on brick and flint footings with hipped roof formerly thatched but now clad in corrugated iron sheeting. Three bay building on an east-west axis, facing north on to a medieval though route through the medieval home farmyard. Currently divided into three compartments. The west compartment has a west doorway in the west end wall with C18 door on pintle hinges, the other two have doorways on the north side. There are boarded partitions between the bay-wide compartments. Although there are no traces of a hayloft, there is a loading hatch between the west and central compartments. The west end wall has been rebuilt in the post-medieval period but medieval carpentry to the other walls.

The original frame is oak of relatively large scantling. From the south wall there is half of a probably original scarf joint in the sill, a simple edge-halved scarf with square vertical abutments. The northern wallplate has a variation of the same joint but with a vertical bladed arrangement to the lower tongue, an unusual form of scarf joint. The main posts are rebated for horizontal butt-boarding and the infill frame set behind the rebate. In the main bays there was a central stud with arch braces each side springing from the main posts to the soffit of the wall plate. All the main timbers have pegged mortise-and-tenon joints. The eastern bay is a little narrower and has a single archbrace. On the south side there are single arch braces in the centre and eastern bays and the kingstuds have enough room between them and the main posts to east to accommodate original doorways.

The main posts have natural flared jowls and normal assembly between the post, wallplate and tiebeam. There are both existing and evidence for curving arch braces. The truss west of centre was evidently open originally whilst the one east of centre was closed, with some original studwork surviving. At the east end the tiebeam indicates that this was built as an open truss. Thus this appears to be an original two bay section to the west (with a possibility that the building once extended further west) and a one bay section to the east which certainly extended at least one bay further in that direction. It appears to have been a stable with unfixed hayloft provision and the timber manger with tethering rings against the east wall of the central bay is consistent with its use as a stable in post-medieval times.

The main section of the roof is medieval comprising sans purlin common rafters of relatively sturdy scantling. The couples have high collars with dovetail-shaped lap-jointed collars fixed by pegs. The hips each end are made up from reused common rafters.

HISTORY: an inventory of 1499 refers to stables and horses in the "nether court" at Faversham Abbey. Four stables are mentioned, including variously six, five, four and two horses. In addition there were four mares and the harness for four carts. It is likely that the existing stable is one of those mentioned in this inventory.

[Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury Lit MS B 5.Julia Bennet and Anthony Blackwell in "Traditional Kent Buildings no 61" ed. Jane Wade 1988 p16,17 and 20.]

Listing NGR: TR0216561803

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

462013

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Traditional Kent Buildings in Traditional Kent Buildings, Vol. 6, (1988), 16 17 20

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