North Hampshire farm named one of the country's most endangered Victorian buildings
Minley Home Farm was once part of Minley Manor Estate
Last updated 14th Dec 2021
A Hampshire farm has made the list of the Top 10 most endangered buildings in the country, according to the Victorian Society.
Minley Home Farm was once part of the ample Minley Manor Estate in the well-wooded Minley in the Hart District.
It was completed circa 1896 to the designs of Arthur Castings, associate to the renowned George Devey, who worked on other buildings in the Minley Manor Estate.
The model farmstead was designed to reflect farming changes during the agricultural depression.
At the time farmable land was converted to livestock use after cheap imports from America caused wheat prices to plummet. The farm includes a dairy, pigsties, bull boxes, and calf and cow boxes.
The farm is particularly rare because, as a result of the depression, few farm buildings were constructed during the late 19th century.
The Manor house itself has found new owners, but the farm and thousands of acres of surrounding land are still owned by the Ministry of Defence - which acquired the manor and its estates in 1935.
Some other buildings in the South and South west making the list were also the Jones & Higgins Department Store in London and the Healings Flour Mill and Warehouses in Gloucestershire.
Victorian Society president Griff Rhys Jones said: "Years of neglect have taken their toll on this model farm, but there is still hope. Gaining listed status would help protect the farm in the first instance.
"Agricultural buildings from this part of the Victorian period are rare, and the farm's unique architecture and location with a larger heritage context mean that it needs to be preserved."
Mr Jones also revealed that the owner of the Manor house is keen to buy the farms but plans are at halt as the MoD has submitted plans to demolish it.
The Top 10 most endangered Victorian buildings in England and Wales:
Coal Drops, Halifax
Halifax Coal Drops were built for the Ovenden and Halifax Junction Railway Co. in 1874 and are an important part of the town's industrial history.
Horncliffe House, Lancashire
Horncliffe House was originally built in 1869 as a private dwelling for Henry Hoyle Hardman, a local mill owner and businessman,
Healings Flour Mill and Warehouses, Tewkesbury
Healings Flour Mill and Warehouses was designed by W.H. James of Tewkesbury for Samuel Healing and Son and was built circa 1865.
Icknield Street School, Birmingham
The Icknield Street School was designed by J.H. Chamberlain of Martin and Chamberlain in 1883 who created several of Birmingham's now listed or lost Victorian buildings.
Indoor Market, Burslem, Stoke on Trent
Burslem indoor market's gothic design and ironwork that was built in 1897 is reminiscent of King's Cross station in London.
Jones & Higgins Department Store, London
The Jones and Higgins Department store opened on the corner of Rye Lane and Peckham High Street in 1867 and formed a key part of a 'Golden Mile' of shops that rivalled Oxford Street. The clock tower was designed by Southwark architects Henry Jarvis & Sons.
Minley Home Farm, Hampshire
The Minley Home Farm was completed circa 1896 to the designs of Arthur Castings, associate to the renowned George Devey, who worked on other buildings in the estate.
Oldham Equitable Cooperative Society (Hill Stores), Oldham
Oldham Equitable Cooperative Society (Hill Stores) commissioned Thomas Taylor to build what would be one of the largest buildings in the area, it was then completed in 1900.
Church of St Helen, Biscathorpe, Lincolnshire
The Church of St Helen, Biscathorpe was rebuilt on the site of the old church in 1847 by W.A. Nicholson in a fanciful Gothic style.
Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff
Architects Oatley and Skinner of Bristol designed the hospital with its ornate interiors in 1902. It first opened in 1908 as 'Cardiff Lunatic Asylum', in the typical style for medical facilities.