NHER 41844 (Building record) - Staines Barns

Barn, later associated with Claxton Tramway (see NHER 13751).
Main barn, north-south, has brick ground floor walls, timber framed upper walls with wattle and daub infill; three stead, central cart doors with porch to east. Shown on (S1) but cannot be much older, unless rebuilt on same site. Quadrangle of farm buildings to east, north and south forms courtyard. South range has west wall to road on south of main barn with two sets of double doors. Double ridged roof with kingpost and strut construction, central row of arcade posts. East range has single roof of same type. North range reconstructed before inspection.
Trenches in floors of south and east ranges revealed sections of track of Claxton Tramway beneath concrete floor. Gauge one foot seven and a half inches; flat bottomed rail; flat metal sleepers. One line along south wall of south range and a second along north side of central arcade, but not in line with doors in west wall. East range has track along inside of east wall, pointing at small door in north wall, but north end rebuilt before inspection. As the track is only exposed in spaced trenches it cannot be seen how these three sets join - presumably by a turnplate - or how they left the building - external trenches reveal no traces of the track which is stated to have been removed in the 1940s - but it supposedly ran along the roadway to the west.
(S1) does not show a south range but has buildings on site of east and north ranges, but (S2) shows buildings on present plan. This is remarkable as otherwise this appears to be an excellent and rare example of a trans-shipment shed where sugar beet was moved from wagons to the tramway to be taken to the wharf. Were the buildings simply remodelled in 1930s?
(S3) in file. The observations made at this time are also summarised in (S6).
E. Rose (NLA), 5 July 2005.

The gauge should have been stated as one foot six inches, measured between the rails rather than centre to centre.
See further details under NHER 13751.
E. Rose (NLA), 11 July 2005.

(S4) in file re-identifies the rails as part of a one foot six inch hand-worked system for transport within the farm and not connected to the Claxton Tramway. Author confirms that the rails exited through the small doorway in the north wall and must have had turnplates in the southeast corner.
E. Rose (NLA), 18 July 2005.

March 2013. Building Survey.
An historic building survey of the barn complex, mainly a photographic record, was carried out in 2013 ahead of conversion to residential use. The survey does not appear to have recorded any evidence of the former tram rails referred to above.
See report (S5) for further details.
A. Yardy (HES), 29 December 2014.