Oaks Barn

Oaks Barn is a field barn with an integrated cow shelter, dating from the 17th or early 18th century, and subject to later alterations.

The barn is constructed of rubble sandstone walls with large sandstone quoins and some ashlar detailing, topped by a slate roof with roof lights, a stone ridge, and coped gables. The plan is broadly rectangular, oriented east to west, with a slightly wider east end forming a cow shelter, creating an overall T-shaped footprint.

The barn is a single-storey building with an asymmetrical pitched roof. The south elevation features a full-height, wide central opening with alternating long and short quoins and a timber lintel. The easternmost bay projects forward, featuring two ventilation slits. Two 20th-century lean-to stores have been added to this side. The west gable displays substantial stone quoins, a late 20th-century entrance with a stone lintel, and a boarded-up opening above, framed by stone and with a concrete cill. The east elevation, wider than the rest of the barn, has substantial quoins and an entrance at each end, each with crudely-shaped stone lintels and plank doors with strap hinges. A central ground floor ventilation slit is present, and near the apex is an opening with a late 20th-century stone lintel. The left side of the roof finishes at a lower level than the right side on this elevation. The north elevation features two rows of small square ventilation holes beneath the eaves in the western part; the slightly projecting western part is quoined.

Inside, the barn is divided into two spaces by a substantial stone partition wall with large quoins and a central entrance. The smaller, wider eastern compartment is believed to have served as a cow shelter with a hayloft above; the hayloft floor appears to have been replaced in the 19th century, and the ground floor at this end is of earth and cobble. The larger western compartment is thought to have been used as a storage barn and has a largely earthen floor. A surviving raised-cruck truss is embedded in the partition wall at the east end. This truss consists of a pair of blades joined by a damaged saddle piece, a slightly eroded collar beam below, and cruck spurs and packing pieces alongside the blades, with evidence of a lower collar beam’s removal and possible partial reuse. The roof trusses at the west end are a pair of 19th-century queen-post trusses. The remaining roof structure, including purlins, rafters, and the ridge piece, dates to the late 20th century.