The Tithe Barn in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, is a large two-storey stone building on the east side of Mill Street. It was constructed in the 14th century 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 ...

for the nearby Archbishop's Palace and was later used as the palace's stables. Construction is attributed to Archbishop Courtenay, who died in 1396. The barn is 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 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 ...

. It is home to the Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages.

Construction

The barn is constructed of roughly coursed rag-stone rubble walls in six

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

ed bays. The west façade features a projecting two-storey

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

porch with stone ground floor construction and brick infilling at first floor level between the timber framing. The building has multiple doorways at both levels on the west façade with many small windows at high level and external stone steps leading up to the first floor of the porch. The tiled roof is of

crown post A crown post is a term in traditional timber framing for a post in roof framing which stands on a '' tie beam'' or ''collar beam'' and supports a ''collar plate''.Alcock, N. W.. Recording timber-framed buildings: an illustrated glossary. London ...

construction and is hipped at both ends with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

over the porch.

Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages

The Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages was established by Mayor of Maidstone Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake who amassed the collection of

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...

s in the first part of the 20th century. Concerned about the effect higher costs and lower incomes were having on the carriage owning classes, leading to thousands of examples being broken up every year, he determined to preserve a selection of, preferably coach-built, non-mechanically propelled vehicles. The museum opened in 1946 and was the first carriage museum in Britain. Among its collection of 60 vehicles are

sedan chair The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the e ...

s, a

hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety ca ...

and

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's state landau. In addition to the main exhibits there is a collection of model coaches ranging from children's toys to a scale model of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

's coach. The Museum is open from May to September each year on Wednesdays to Sundays and

bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or h ...

References

External links

Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages
{{Museums in Kent Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century Buildings and structures in Maidstone Grade I listed buildings in Kent Grade I listed agricultural buildings Scheduled monuments in Kent Barns in England Tithe barns in Europe

Construction

Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages

See also

References

External links