NHER 30608 (Building record) - Hunts Farm

Barn and outbuildings (house gutted by fire 1921, see photo in file). Barn dated 1816, believed to be earliest dated clay lump building yet recorded. Date on stone in north gable which is of knapped flint, facing farmhouse. Far gable now rebuilt in breezeblocks, but rear wall and outshut of keyed clay lump on flint and brick plinths. Outshut has been raised by having courses of brick added on top of the clay. 150ft long. Outbuildings of clay lump with gables of brick backed in unfired clay blocks whose chalk content would have prevented firing. Local tradition states farm was built by French prisoners of war and some of these details echo Continental methods.
See details in reference (S1).

Source [1] now states that gable with date stone collapsed, and date can now be seen to be 1846 not 1816, thus making the connection with French prisoners unlikely. Furthermore a clay lump building of the 1790s has been found in Wymondham.
E. Rose (NLA) 7 October 1994.

Press cutting (S2), list of owners and location map, supplied by source [1] in file.
E. Rose (NAU) 17 May 1994.

De-listed December 2006.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 25 April 2009.