Barn At Greatford Hall

The barn at Greatford Hall is an aisled barn dating from the early 16th century, with alterations made in the 20th century. It is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins at the lower part of the walls, and features a timber frame in the upper section. The roof is covered with Collyweston slate. The barn is a single storey with attic lights and has a two-bay front. The side walls rise to 5 feet and are topped with a chamfered coping. Above these walls, the timber frame has close studding on a sleeper beam arranged in eight bays, with straight diagonal braces on the bay posts, which are now infilled with glass. There are off-centre double planked doors with a weatherboarded gablette, and to the right, a smaller planked door. The roof includes two gable dormers with two-light plain casements and slate-hung cheeks. The south side of the barn has no openings but features a central 20th-century decorative concrete panel, one of many created by Major C.C.L. Fitzwilliam, who rebuilt the Hall in the 1930s. Inside, the barn consists of eight aisled bays with large jowled posts on stone bases spaced approximately 12 feet apart, and straight braces to the tie beams. The principals are numbered, and the tie beams have queen post struts and lapped butt purlins. While there is no definitive evidence of the barn's original use, its size suggests it was likely used for storing tithes.