S of the house, a … late Victorian stables. (1)
Stable block. Late C17, altered and reroofed late C19. (2)
A quadrangle of redbrick with stone quoins and archways on 3 sides. Superficially C19, it was builtin c1660, an early example of the plan-form, altered in the 1730s. Rebuilt probably in the 1860s by John Birch. Original C17 fabric can be seen most clearly in the outer N elevation. Converted to shops, craft centre etc by William Saunders & Partners, 1980. (3)

Summary
The core of the stable that survives at Rufford Abbey is that of a seventeenth century quadrangle. The best-preserved elevations from this date form the north and east walls of the courtyard. The other two courtyard walls and the west range were partially rebuilt by Henry Savile, works beginning in 1878. He preserved some parts of the seventeenth century brickwork on the other three outward-facing elevations but reduced their height to insert new decorative eaves. He chose elaborate decoration over improving the foundations and rebuilding, but the fanciful eaves and rainwater goods could not hide the patchwork of different bricks and awkward stone banding. He also chose fine interior fittings over an effective ventilation system in his newly built range. The retention of two ranges of stalls and the addition of a new two-stall stable suggests that Savile was still a fan of the stall for accommodating many of his horses. The completed nineteenth century quadrangle could accommodate a maximum of twenty-seven horses and only ten of those had the relative freedom of a loosebox. For Henry Savile and his brother Augustus who inherited Rufford from him, the stalls were most probably used as a showcase for their famous racehorses. Stalls could also have been used for carriage and/or riding horses or Savile may have been confident to ignore contemporary advice and keep his hunters and racehorses in them. The staff accommodation was private, well lit, and heated but will have suffered from the odour from the poorly ventilated stables below where aesthetics had firmly won over function. Plans published by John Birch in 1883 show how the stables were laid out: (4)
North Range:
The north range had a row of nine stalls with mangers at the head of each stall. The original stall partitions survived until the late twentieth century, when they were removed to form retail space. One partition survives in its original position, attached to the west end wall and another is confusingly reused in the coach house. By the late 1870s the windows and the entrance archway in the rear wall had been infilled with brick, but the sash windows and archway survive on the courtyard wall. The north elevation was altered to match the look of the new west range which was rebuilt at this time. The new range had stone dressed windows, so the original brickheaded windows of the north elevation had stone dressings crudely inserted.(4)
South Range:
The south range had a row of six stalls one loosebox. A further two looseboxes were accessed at the east end of the stalls, each with its own window and corner manger. It also gave access to a four-loosebox stable in the corner of the new west range. This stable could be separated off from the main row of stalls as it had its own access from the courtyard. The west range also housed a well-lit two-stall stable that was completely self-contained being accessed only from the courtyard. Rufford has two individual boxes accessed only from the archway passage.(4)
Granary and Staff Accommodation:
A huge granary extended over the entire upper floor of the new west range. Shoots in the granary floor allowed grain to be poured down to the stable below. Hay and straw were delivered through a hatch with a winch to the storage area which could then be lowered down into the horses' space. The upper floor of the north range included three private grooms’ rooms annotated as ‘helpers’ rooms’ accessed from a corridor. These provided comfortable accommodation, each having its own fireplace and window to the courtyard as well as access to a pantry at the end of the corridor. At the other end of the range was a ‘mess room’ with a fireplace. This range also accommodated the harness room, next to the groom’s accommodation for security at night and next to the stairs for easy access during the day. In the east range and on the other side of the access stairs was the saddle room. For security it was located next to the coachman’s accommodation, which included a pantry and large kitchen with a fireplace. Off the coachman’s kitchen was a ‘medicine closet’ which would have contained equine rather than human medication. A corridor gave access to another heated room called the ‘residence parlour’ which opened on to two heated bedrooms each with a window.(4)
1878 Remodelling:
The architect John Birch surveyed the stables in 1878 and noted that they were in a very bad state of repair. The west range had lost its roof and floors and Birch believed the foundations of the other three ranges to be so poor that they should be pulled down and rebuilt. Birch estimated that the repairs would cost 6,000. The surviving fabric of the stables shows that the other three ranges were not pulled down and rebuilt as Birch had suggested. No expense was spared on the decorative finishes such as the stone dressings, and fanciful rainwater goods. The top course of bricks on the external walls was removed to make way for a deep decorative eaves to the new roof. The north elevation shows how the original seventeenth century brickwork on the left contrasts with the brickwork and eaves of the nineteenth century. (4)

Listed buildings slides, 8 slides (Photograph). SNT2648.

<1> Pevsner N, 1979, The Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire 2nd ed., p 302 (Monograph). SNT4.

<2> DOE, Listed Building Description (Published document). SNT228.

<3> C Hartwell, N Pevsner and E Williamson, 2020, The Buildings of England Nottinghamshire (Published document). SNT5224.

<4> Janine Buckley, 2023, Country House Stables of Nottinghamshire (Published document). SNT5502.

<5> Lucy Denton, 2015, Rufford Abbey – and The Ministry of Works
By Lucy Denton BA (Hons) MA 2015 (Unpublished document). SNT5244.