History
The Hayloft is within the grounds of Sleapford Farm, which was part of the Duke of Sutherland Lilleshall Estate and dates back to the late 18th Century / early 19th Century. James Loch, Land Agent for the Duke of Sutherland, made improvements to many of the cottages and farms on the Lilleshall Estate around 1820 and the surrounding land (The Weald Moors) was also extensively drained at this time. The Hayloft was originally the old brick built cowshed to Sleapford Farm with Hayloft above and had stalls with tyings and mangers for 4 cows and it is thought it dates back to around 1820 when James Loch made these improvements. It was sympathetically renovated and extended by the existing owners in 2008 when the oak timber frame section was added to the original brick building on the footprint of what had been a corrugated iron extension to the original cowshed with stalls and tyings for a further 8 cows.