NHER 1102 (Building record) - Godwick Barn

Brick barn on Deserted Medieval Settlement site (see NHER 1104). Not shown on parish map of Godwick (1596) so probably dates from early 17th century. Elaborate pedimented blind windows on west façade to face Godwick Hall (see NHER 1103).
See file for trenches excavated inside which revealed a pit with 16th century sherds sealed by a clay floor.
P. Wade-Martins (NAU), 1974.

(S1) notes a portion of this building blown down 1902; traditionally it was called 'The Barracks' (militia?).

Central pedimented doorway, blocked but now reopened. Ground floor windows pedimented in chequered brickwork, much altered. Upper windows with brick mullions and transoms, all blocked (not false; brick blocking is later). Interior not seen, but slide by [1] shows hammerbeam roof. Exterior is modern slate to west and tile to east. Probably a building like Hall Farm, Sustead, where labourers lived upstairs and storage downstairs.
E. Rose (NAU), 1 December 1977 and 26 March 1981.

June 1984. Listed Grade II.
Listing Description Excerpt:
"Barn 305 metres south of Godwick Hall.
Former house associated with Godwick Hall (demolished); now barn housing grain silos. Probably 1576. Brick in English bond with shingle (to west) and pantile roof. Formerly of two storeys with attic."
Information from (S2).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S2) for the current details.
P. Watkins (HES), 22 August 2019. Amended by H. Hamilton (HES), 8 November 2019.

(S2) notes queen struts on arched braces alternating with hammerbeams, three levels of butt purlins with windbracing and collars; identifies structure as a house and dates it to 1576 with 18th century gables.

Report, photographs, schedule consent in file.

22 July 1993. NLA aerial photography (S3).
Barn visible.
M. Brennand (NLA), 7 February 2001.

12 July 1994. NLA aerial photography (S4).
The buildings are clearly visible.
H. Clare (NLA), 22 February 2001.

The name Barracks was in fact often used in Norfolk for farmworkers lodgings.
For another theory of the building's history see (S5) and (S6).
E. Rose (NLA), 14 September 2004.

2012. Dendrochronological Survey.
Samples taken from various roof and floor frame timbers for tree-ring analysis.
This analysis resulted in the construction and dating of two site sequences, one containing 21 samples and spanning the period AD 1406-1597 and the second the period AD 1624-1701. Other sample was individually dated to the period AD 1582-1683.
The dates obtained suggest that the floor-frames and the primary construction of the roof are contemporary, with both likely to date to (or shortly after) AD 1597. Repairs to the roof can be dated to the first decades of the 18th century.
See report (S7) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 22 August 2019.

April 2012. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of extension on east side of Godwick Great Barn, which took place following the demolition of a cattle shed abutting the northern wall of the barn and the removal of a concrete yard surface.
The foundation trench excavated revealed the lower brick courses of the barn's east wall. Construction cuts likely to have been associated with the now demolished 18th-/19th-century extensions was also recorded. One contained the remains of a brick rubble and mortar wall and its foundation. There was evidence for considerable recent disturbance, with a made ground deposit containing bricks and worked flints lying directly above the natural geological deposits. This material was likely to represent debris from the demolition of the late post-medieval structures.
No finds were recovered.
See report (S8) for further detail.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2016.232).
P. Watkins (HES), 1 May 2024.