The Bishop's Barn in Silver Street, 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 , lor ...

, 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 tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

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 I ...

, and scheduled as an ancient monument. It was built of local stone roughly squared, with Doulting 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, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

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 beams and arched

wind brace In architecture, wind braces are diagonal braces to tie the rafters of a roof together and prevent racking. In medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th ...

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,

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. ...

and Slade, 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 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