Barn at Witton Hall Farm

MATERIALS: The barn is constructed of random local carboniferous sandstone rubble with dressed and margined quoins and a pitched roof of Welsh slate.

PLAN: It is situated to the north west of a farm group at Witton Hall, on ground that falls away to the south. It is a rectangular building of seven bays, oriented north to south.

EXTERIOR: The barn has one storey and a loft and has six bays, the loft lit by six wide glazed openings directly under the eaves on both sides and by two on the south gable. The east elevation has a large pegged oak door frame with chamfered jambs and a slightly arched lintel with soffit holes, possible for harr-hung doors (pivoting on pintles set into the lintel and threshold rather than on hinges), now blocked. There is also a blocked slit vent and three inserted openings. The west elevation has a blocked doorway, whose quoins are considered to be the remains of an original doorway opposing that of the east wall; there are also a pair of inserted cart entrances and an external stair to a loft entrance at the north end. The north gable has a boarded loft pitching door, and the line of an earlier, steeper roof is clearly visible and there are larger and rougher quoins. The south gable has a group of ten pigeonholes with alighting ledges and a cart entrance.

INTERIOR: The interior has a concrete floor and a modern corrugated metal screen divides it into two parts. Walls are very thick with the exception of the southern two end bays. The loft floor rests on thirteen wooden beams, five of which, displaying mortises and peg holes, are re-used tie beams from the original C15 roof structure; four of these are placed on their sides and one is in its original position. The tie beams had three pegs each for the principal rafters and one is notched for floor joists and a number have carpenter's marks. The loft has an early-C19 softwood roof structure and comprises nine trusses.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 18 May 2023 to amend the description and to reformat the text to current standards