The Bishop's Barn in Silver Street,

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, was built as a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...

in the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade I

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 ...

, and scheduled as an

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The '' Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 197 ...

. It was built of local stone roughly squared, with

Doulting Doulting is a village and civil parish east of Shepton Mallet, on the A361, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. History The parish of Doulting was part of the Whitstone Hundred. The parish includes the village of Bodden, which was ...

ashlar dressings and a

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

slate roof. The barn has 12

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

s with a

cruck A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which support the roof of a building, historically used in England and Wales. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and ...

roof with double

collar beam A collar beam or collar is a horizontal member between two rafters and is very common in domestic roof construction. Often a collar is structural but they may be used simply to frame a ceiling. A collar beam is often called a collar tie but this ...

s and arched

wind brace In architecture, wind braces are diagonal braces to tie the rafters of a roof together and prevent racking. In medieval roofs they are arched, and run from the principal rafters to catch the purlin A purlin (or historically purline, purloyne, pur ...

s. Royalist troops were quartered in the barn during the

Bloody Assizes The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials started at Winchester on 25 August 1685 in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England. History There were five judges: Sir William Montague (Lord Chief Bar ...

. It 1887 the barn was given to the City of Wells by Bishop

Lord Arthur Hervey Lord Arthur Charles Hervey (20 August 1808 – 9 June 1894) was an English bishop who served as Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1869 to 1894. He was usually known by his aristocratic courtesy title, "Lord", rather than the style appropriate to ...

for recreation and amusement. During the 1970s the barn was used as a music venue, and hosted bands such as

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending pro ...

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

and

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

, with audiences of up to 1,500. These bands were promoted at the venue by local Wells teenager
Gordon Poole
and Tony Leach. It is now managed by the Wells Recreation Ground Trust. The barn and adjacent recreation ground can be booked for events. In 2014 the Wells Recreation Ground Trust commissioned architects to survey the buildings and develop options for its repair and future use in conjunction with the

Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust The Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust (SBPT) works to save the architectural heritage of Somerset, England. The Trust is an independent body and consists of up to 18 Trustees who hold Board meetings 3 times a year. It is a Building Preservati ...

. The advisory group identified a plan for improvements to the barn, including the installation of central heating and repairs to the walls and roof, estimated to cost at least £400,000 over five years.

References

External links

Wells Recreation GroundWells Recreation Ground and Bishop's Barn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishops Bard, Wells 15th-century religious buildings and structures Grade I listed buildings in Mendip District History of Somerset Wells Cathedral Barns in England Scheduled monuments in Mendip District Grade I listed agricultural buildings Tithe barns in Europe Buildings and structures in Wells, Somerset