The building dates from the early eighteenth century and has gone through successive changes in use and layout. Part of it housed the farm’s horses in stables like the one that remains. There was a loft space above for the storage of hay beneath a roof which was originally thatched  and is now cedar shingle.

The section with the big double doors was a coach house. The farm carts, wagons and implements were stored in the open fronted shed on the other side of the road.

When Nathaniel Lloyd purchased Great Dixter in 1910 he was already the owner of a motor car so the coach house became a garage. The other end of the barn became the site for an engine and generator which provided electric lighting to the house. At the same time, new buildings for the farm were constructed down the hill opposite.