Child's Farm Barn

The Child's Farm Barn is a late 17th- or early 18th-century barn located in Bardsey cum Rigton. It is constructed of coursed rubble stone with quoins at the corners, featuring a Welsh slate roof to the rear and pantiles to the front over the nave, with stone slates over the aisle.

The barn’s plan consists of five bays, with an aisle running along the entire front length. The aisle is divided into separate rooms by rubble stone walls to the left and right of the central cart entrance, with access from the exterior.

The front (east) elevation features a central cart entry with double, har-hung plank doors extending to the full height of the aisle, and further plank stable doors to the right and left. A three-light window from the 20th century is located on the left side, along with modern roof lights to the aisle and main roof. The rear elevation has a central cart entry with double plank doors under a modern wooden lintel, along with two 20th-century windows under the eaves and numerous roof lights. The bottom three courses of roof tiles are stone slate. The north gable end has a window at first floor level, a former hayloft door, and a later stone open-fronted lean-to. A single-storey stone building with a pantile roof is attached at right angles to the barn; this was originally cowsheds but has been adapted into stables and is later than the barn itself. The south gable end has a flat-roofed connection to the farmhouse, with a 20th-century door providing access into the barn.

Inside, the aisle is divided from the main barn on either side by stone walls extending to roof level on the north side and to eaves level on the south side. The central section of the main barn is paved with stone. To either side, the space is floored over at eaves level, creating platforms at each end of the barn. A 20th-century door with steps provides access into the barn from the farmhouse extension to the south. The barn’s interior contains four trusses with through purlins, crossed and pegged principals, and a ridge piece.

From the north end, the first truss has a slender queen strut to the west and an embedded jowled post with a brace, the aisle tie and post are visible in the aisle. The second truss also has queen struts, with the tie beam resting on the arcade plate which supports the side wall of the aisle room. The third truss features queen struts, and a similar arrangement is present at the aisle end. The fourth truss has queen struts and a jowled aisle post. An arcade plate is braced from this post, and the principal continues into the aisle through rough wooden panelling separating the aisle from the platform. The timbers of this truss show mortise holes where a brace has been removed between the post and tie beam. All the timbers are roughly shaped, some retaining traces of bark.