Great House Barn is a 16th-century barn and

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in Rivington,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. Built as a tithe barn it is believed to be one of the oldest of its type in the county

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

p. 127. and is a Grade II listed building.

History

Built using cruck framing of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, the original building is of, at the latest, 16th-century construction, but is likely to be older. Major changes were made to the building by Thomas Anderton, the owner in 1702. The west gable of the barn is dated 1702 but is possibly older and has the initials A TAR (Thomas, Alice, and Robert Anderton). By the early 20th century the

Rivington Hall Rivington Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Rivington, Lancashire, England. It was the manor house for the Lords of the Manor of Rivington. The hall is of various builds as successor to a 15th-century timber-framed courtyard house that was ...

, farm and barns were owned by

Lord Leverhulme William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme , (, ; 19 September 1851 – 7 May 1925) was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. Having been educated at a small private school until the age of nine, then at church school ...

and on his instructions the architect Jonathan Simpson made further substantial alterations to the barn. Architecturally, the barn is as Leverhulme had it restored, with the cruck beams infilled with sandstone block walls and a slate roof. The Tudor-style timber-framed porch and mullion windows are 20th-century additions During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the barn was used by the

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

as a food storage depot. The barn is owned by Salmons and is a cafe and forms part of an information centre about the Leverhulme estate.

References

Notes Bibliography * * {{Borough of Chorley buildings Grade II listed barns in England Rivington Buildings and structures in the Borough of Chorley Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire