The date stone is opposite the entrance to the mews on the
gable end of the facing building. The inscription reads "Horbury / Mews
1878" and is carved into white stone with the letters and numbers painted
black. Around the edge is a set of terracotta tiles although they could be
brick, of a different colour. Some of these are decorated. Above the date stone
is a shield that shows the letters "R" and "C" intertwined.
The letters are made to look as though they are formed from horse shoes which is
very apt for a mews.
Any trace of horses and stables are long goe and the
buildings are now homes.
Wikipedia [visit
link] tells us about the word 'mews' and by coincidence contains a
photograph of this mews:
"Mews is a primarily British term formerly describing a
row of stables, usually with carriage houses below and living quarters above,
built around a paved yard or court, or along a street, behind large city houses,
such as those of London, during the 17th and 18th centuries. The word may also
refer to the lane, alley or back street onto which such stables open. It is
sometimes applied to rows or groups of garages or, more broadly, to a narrow
passage or a confined place. Today most mews stables have been converted into
dwellings, some greatly modernised and considered highly desirable
residences.
The term mews is plural in form but singular in
construction, and arose from "mews" in the sense of a building where birds used
for falconry are kept. Originating in London, its use has spread to parts of
Canada, Australia and the United States (see, for example, Washington Mews in
Greenwich Village, New York City).
From 1377 onwards the king's falconry birds were kept in
the King's Mews at Charing Cross. The name remained when it became the royal
stables starting in 1537. It was demolished in the early 19th century and
Trafalgar Square was built on the site. The present Royal Mews was then built in
the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The stables of St James's Palace, which
occupied the site where Lancaster House was later built, were also referred to
as the "Royal Mews" on occasion, including on John Rocque's 1740s map of
London.
The term "mews" is not used for large individual
non-royal British stable blocks, a feature of country houses. For example the
grand stable block at Chatsworth House is referred to as the stables, not the
mews. Instead the word was applied to service streets and the stables in them in
cities, primarily London. In the 18th and 19th centuries London housing for
wealthy people generally consisted of streets of large terraced houses with
stables at the back, which opened onto a small service street. The mews had
horse stalls and a carriage house on the ground floor, and stable servants'
living accommodation above. Generally this was mirrored by another row of
stables on the opposite side of the service street, backing onto another row of
terraced houses facing outward into the next street. Sometimes there were
variations such as small courtyards. Most mews are named after one of the
principal streets which they back onto. Most but not all have the word "mews" in
their name. This arrangement was different from most of Continental Europe,
where the stables in wealthy urban residences were usually off a front or
central courtyard. The advantage of the British system was that it hid the
sounds and smells of the stables away from the family when they were not using
the horses.
Mews lost their equestrian function in the early 20th
century when motor cars were introduced. At the same time, after World War I and
especially after World War II, the number of people who could afford to live in
the type of houses which had a mews attached fell sharply.[citation needed] Some
mews were demolished or put to commercial use, but the majority were converted
into homes. These "mews houses", nearly always located in the wealthiest
districts, are themselves now fashionable
residences."