Former Stables, Temple Farm, Temple Bruer, North Kesteven, Lincolnshire: Historic Buildings Survey

Photography was undertaken in 35mm digital SLR colour photography (using a 10.4 Mpixel format). Photography was undertaken of the historic farm outbuilding to create a primary archive and included general shots of the site and detailed photography of room arrangement; main elevations and constructional details such as window openings, and fixtures and fittings, such as doors and window fenestration. Weather conditions on the day began with occasional sunny intervals becoming warmer and increasingly sunny after 10am. Low light levels necessitated the use of flash in all interior situations and included some fill-in flash to penetrate the shadows in the exterior shots. The photographs were further supplemented by Room-based record sheets and Brickwork recording sheets Temple Farm consists of a 17th-century Grade II Listed farmhouse within a complex of 18th- and 19th-century farm buildings, occupying the site of a former preceptory of the Knights Templar; a tower of the medieval preceptory church, now a Scheduled Monument and Grade I Listed Building, survives among the farm buildings, while one of the domestic ranges of the preceptory is encased within the structure of the farmhouse. The outbuilding to be converted was originally a stable block of 18th- to 19th-century date, representing the domestic stables used by the prosperous occupants of the farmhouse rather than accommodation for the farm's working heavy horses. The stables appear to have been sequentially extended, first by the construction (and subsequent raising) of Building B to the north of the original Building A, and again by the more recent conversion of a small, enclosed area into a lean-to (Building C). The southern bay of Building A was associated with a more domestic use, as an oven was built into its south wall, later converted for the installation of a copper. The outbuildings retain their original arrangement and some architectural details, although they have unfortunately lost their stable fittings such as stall divisions, hay racks or feeding troughs, and should be considered typical examples of their kind, albeit not well-preserved. Fragments of re-used medieval masonry were identified in the walls of Buildings A and C; such fragments have been observed in other buildings during previous studies and are thought to be widespread across the farmstead. As a group, the outbuildings of Temple Farm clearly demonstrate the position of the farm in the established evolution of Lincolnshire agriculture, reflecting the development of farming practices of the period. The building survey has recorded and provided an archive of these outbuildings to preserve them by record prior to redevelopment and the consequent loss of historic evidence contained in their fabric.