Converting a barn

Converting a Ludham Barn

by Margaret Watts

Horsefen Road Barn

This old barn at Beech Farm has stood for many years on Horsefen road in Ludham. The thatch was old and the brickwork rather wobbly. It was time for the barn to begin a new phase in it's history.
Permission was granted to turn it into 3 holiday houses. On this page, you can see how the work progressed.
The original barn was built in the 18th century. In the tiles on the end of the barn can still just be read (on a good day) 1748.

You can just about make out the date in the panel

The roof timbers showed that old trunks and branches had kept up the roof for many years.

At about Easter time 2008, the thatch was removed from the old barn revealing the old timbers in all their glory.

The developers hoped to keep much of the old aspects of the barn. The hay mangers can be used for banisters for example.

And the mangers for plant troughs.

By the middle of April 2008 much of the site has been prepared

and reusable materials had been stacked.

Then came the thatching of the roof and the pointing of the brickwork to give the outside a finished look