Newingreen Farm and farm sign, Lympne, Kent

Summary

A late-C18 or early-C19 steading, incorporating a C16 or C17 farmhouse, arranged in a full courtyard plan.

Description

A late-C18 or early-C19 steading, incorporating a C16 or C17 farmhouse, arranged in a full courtyard plan. The southern agricultural range has been converted to a separate dwelling known as Stone Court.
Please note that the steading is aligned approximately north-east to south-west to respect the road, but the broadly corresponding cardinal positions are used here for simplicity.

MATERIALS: the farmhouse appears in part to be timber-framed with rendered elevations. The agricultural buildings are brick. All buildings have Kent peg tile-covered roofs.

PLAN: a regular courtyard plan steading comprising agricultural ranges to the north, east and south sides, and a farmhouse forming the west side of the group. A gated entrance into the yard from Stone Street is formed by the space between both ranges.

The plan-form of the farmhouse is unclear but it appears to have an ‘M’ shaped roof to the main range, suggesting a double-pile plan, with lower extensions to the south.

The southern former threshing barn and attached ranges (combined as a single dwelling) have modernised interiors and it is not clear what the original internal plan-form was. They have an ‘L’ plan with the barn and attached building forming the southern arm, attached to the return range parallel to the road. Apart from the threshing barn, the function of which is clear from its external features and character, the historic purpose of the single storey range parallel to Stone Street isn’t certain, although a stable is a possibility. Attached to the west of the barn is a single storey building, with a long, low roof which could indicate an aisled structure, possibly a storage barn attached to the threshing barn. There have been some suggestions that this could be a granary but the building in its current form suggests this is unlikely.

The ranges to the north and east were probably shelter sheds, animal housing or cart lodges and they appear to be open fronted and not converted.

EXTERIOR

The Farmhouse

The farmhouse is of two storeys beneath varying hipped roof forms, and a number of brick chimneys. Fenestration is generally modern and includes PVC-u bow windows to the ground floor and casements to the first floor. The central range appears to be an early, timber-framed building with exposed close studding, end posts and a midrail to the principal east-facing elevation. The scantling is variable and appears to include additional timber supports anchoring the studs to the midrail; details of the carpentry used are not clear. There is a red brick porch with a brown tiled hipped roof at the centre. A parallel pile is apparent to the rear but the details are unknown. To the south is a lower extension with a hipped dormer, where some timber framing at the east elevation is also exposed, but this is much lighter in scantling and could be applied rather than structural.

Threshing and storage barns

The threshing barn is built of red brick laid in English bond, with tile hanging to the east gable end where the roof is half-hipped, and rear elevation at the first floor, except in the position of the central, rear, full-height doorway which has been blocked by brick. The roof is fully hipped at the west end and has a number of ‘velux’ windows on both pitches to light a mezzanine presumably inserted when the building was converted. The principal, north-facing elevation retains the opposing front full-height doorway, now glazed, with a large modern window to the west, above which is a dormer. The east elevation, fronting the road, has two openings at the ground floor, a window and possibly a former pedestrian door into the barn, partially blocked to form another window. At the first floor is a tall window, which may mark the position of a former taking-in door for hay/grain but this is far from certain. Attached to the threshing barn to the west is a smaller barn which is also part of the dwelling and retains much of its external character. The low roof suggests that it may be aisled and its uneven character is indicative of a surviving historic roof structure. The principal north-facing elevation has exposed timber posts which may mark the position of stalls or doorways, partially infilled to create window openings. It is possible that some animal housing was included in this building, but its form suggests that its main function was for storage.

Attached to the east end of the threshing barn, running parallel to the road, is a one bay deep range of red brick laid in English bond. The roof is hipped at the north end, surmounted off-centre by a square-section louvred cupola with a modern weather vane atop its tiled roof; round-arched entrances with coped pediments above are apparent on both the east and west elevations and may mark a former pedestrian entrance into the yard. The west-facing elevation has two hipped projecting bays to the north of the entrance, currently garages, possibly stabling historically, and two modern windows inserted south of the entrance. The space between the north return of this range, and south return of the north range, form the historic and current vehicular entrance into the courtyard.

Shelter sheds to east and north

Built of red brick laid in English bond, with hipped tiled roofs. The east elevation is blind, with an off-centre, square-section louvered cupola with a modern weather vane atop its tiled roof.

INTERIOR

There was no interior inspection of the properties. The information below is gleaned from estate agent’s details of 2013 and relate to Stone Court, the dwelling formed from the southern agricultural range. In the threshing barn, the position of the former threshing floor between the full-height doorways is now the reception and stair hall. The two barns are interconnecting and several timber-framed partitions appear to remain in situ. There are arched braces to posts and the roof structure comprises substantial tie beams with studs, principal rafters and straight diagonal bracing. It is possible that the purlins have been enclosed. In the smaller barn there appear to be exposed arcade posts and aisle plates in the easternmost room.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES

A large iron sign, with scrolled decoration, characteristic in Sussex and Kent, is located on the verge adjacent to Stone Street to the east of the farm complex. The sign once bore the name of the farm (New Inn Green Farm) but is badly degraded and the lettering is lost.

History

Newingreen Farm is located beside the southern section of Stone Street, just to the south of its intersection with the A20 Ashford Road. It is a regular courtyard plan steading with agricultural ranges to the north, east, and south sides, and a farmhouse forming the west side of the group. A gated entrance into the yard from Stone Street is formed by the space between the agricultural ranges.

The origin of the steading is unknown but the farmhouse incorporates some timber framing and is likely to retain historic fabric of the C16 or C17 judging from the exposed frame. The agricultural buildings are probably later from the consistent size and manufacture of the brickwork, either late C18 or early C19.

Newingreen Farm is depicted on the 1769 Andrews Dury and Herbert map; the farmhouse is shown in its current position, with the courtyard to the fore, on its east side. Within the courtyard is a range at right-angles to the road, but seemingly not in the position of the existing buildings, further suggesting that the brick agricultural ranges are later than the map, if it is accurate. The 1841 Tithe Map shows the steading broadly in its current form, the farmhouse square on plan with a shallow projection at its south-west corner. On the north and south boundaries are ‘L’ shaped agricultural ranges which front Stone Street, the entrance to the steading being formed by the space between the two, as now. The steading is annotated ‘New Inn Green Farm’.

The 1:2500 OS map of 1882 broadly reflects the same arrangement as the Tithe map, but shows the farmhouse as being slightly extended with an added rear wing. The 1:2500 1898 map shows an additional agricultural range attached to the west of the southern range. The 1907 map indicates that this has been demolished with a separate building constructed to the west and the farmhouse has been extended again. Between 1938 and 1971 an additional building has been added to the west end of the southern agricultural range.

In the late C20 or early C21 the southern agricultural range, comprising a former threshing barn, a possible storage barn and stable, was converted to a domestic dwelling known as Stone Court. Estate agent particulars indicate that internally some of the historic fabric remains but that the plan form has been remodelled significantly.

Reasons for Listing

Newingreen Farm, a steading of the mid C18 to early C19, and earlier, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* as a cohesive ensemble of mid-C18 to early-C19 agricultural ranges with a distinctive farmhouse of the C16 or C17;
* although we have not inspected the interior of the buildings, from the available information, a significant proportion of original fabric within the individual buildings appears to remain;
* the buildings are constructed with craftsmanship and good quality materials, incorporating timber framing, and externally distinctive features such as the pedimented entrance at the south range and cupolas.

Historic interest:
* the farmstead is a full courtyard type, of which there are relatively few in the south-east of England, and represents the evolution of farmsteads at a time considered to be the internationally most important period of farm building development in England.

External Links

Historic England Listing

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.