Significance of Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn
Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn is one of the best preserved medieval barns in England. Its significance lies in its scale, condition and value for understanding medieval agriculture.
Architecture
Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn is one of the finest surviving medieval barns in England.
It retains most of its original 14th-century roof frame, an excellent example of cruck-framing using three different variants of the truss design (see Description of Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn). The high quality of its ashlar masonry is equally impressive.
History
The tithe barn was part of Barton Grange, an unusually large monastic manor farm held from 1001 until 1539 by Shaftesbury Abbey, the richest nunnery in medieval England.
It lies within a complex of medieval agricultural buildings, including a granary and a smaller barn. These surviving buildings of Barton Grange are of historic significance for what they reveal about medieval agriculture.
In use until 1974, the barn is also an example of how monastic property was repurposed after the Suppression.
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