Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn is a

Grade I listed 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 I ...

barn in Pound Lane,

Bradford on Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, ...

, Wiltshire, England. It was part of a medieval

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austr ...

belonging to Shaftesbury Abbey and was built in the early 14th century, with a granary dated to about 1400. It is owned and protected by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

and managed by the Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust.

Geography

The

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

is at Barton Farm on the southern side of Bradford-on Avon in West Wiltshire, to the southeast of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. The

Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cen ...

passes close to the south side of the barn.

History

An early barn, of which no remains survive today, was built on the site of the current barn around 1300. The current Tithe Barn dates to the 1330s, probably c.1332. It was definitely built before 1367. It originally belonged to the nuns of the nearby Shaftesbury Abbey in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, the richest nunnery in England. It was used for storage of

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

s during the Middle Ages. The Abbey was entitled to 10% of the produce of its tenants. When Shaftesbury Abbey was dissolved in 1539, the grange became a farm. By 1914 the building was superfluous to the farm's requirements and, rather than demolish it, the then owner, Sir

Charles Hobhouse Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse, 4th Baronet, TD, PC, JP (30 June 1862 – 26 June 1941) was a British Liberal politician and officer in the Territorial Force. He was a member of the Liberal cabinet of H. H. Asquith between 1911 and 1915 ...

, donated the barn to the Wiltshire Archaeological Society. The farm continued in use until purchased by

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county. As a result of the 2009 restructur ...

in 1971, with the barn in use until 1974. The barn was designated a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and ...

in 1930 and 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 I ...

in 1952. By the 1980s the weight of the roof was pushing the walls out, necessitating the underpinning of the walls and the installation of iron cross-ties to stop the movement.

Features

A large building, long by wide, the barn forms part of a range of farm buildings grouped around an open rectangular yard. There are two large porches on the northern side to allow entry for loaded carts. Opposite them are smaller porches to allow the empty carts to leave. The apertures high above the doors, which still contain some original wood, are left unglazed to allow owls to enter in search of vermin. An attraction for visitors is the barn's interior, with its timber

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 spanning 14 bays divided by A-shaped trusses supporting 100 tons of stone tiles.

Popular culture

In the 1980s, the barn was a filming location for the cult

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

Robin of Sherwood ''Robin of Sherwood'' is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 28 April 1984 to 28 June 1986 on the ITV network. In t ...

'', doubling as Nottingham Castle's great hall.

References

Bibliography

* * * Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century Barns in England Buildings and structures in Wiltshire Grade I listed buildings in Wiltshire Bradford-on-Avon Tithe barns in Europe

External links

{{commonscat, Tithe Barn, Bradford-on-Avon
Bradford-on-Avon Preservation Trust