East barn at Middleton Court

East barn at Middleton Court, C17-C19.

MATERIALS: a timber-framed construction, with red brick underbuilding, brick nogging, a stone and brick plinth and tiled roof.

PLAN: the barn is orientated north-south, and stands on the east side of a loose courtyard to the south of Middleton Court. It is abutted on the north gable by later ancillary structures (not listed).

EXTERIOR: the barn is a five-bay double-height structure. It is timber-framed, with small box framing originally of four bays in height, standing on a plinth of stone and brick. The upper boxes of the frame are infilled with red brick nogging, with blue brick forming alternating cross and diamond patterns. The bottom two boxes of the frame were replaced, presumably when the barn was converted, providing four looseboxes with a central storage bay. This involved the insertion of a series of stable doors with segmental arched brick heads, and flat-headed louvred openings. The central bay on the west elevation has full-height timber doors, and on the east elevation has a corresponding double doorway with a cambered head. On the west elevation the ground is lower, exposing the stone plinth. The north gable is timber-framed; the southern gable has been rebuilt in brick, and has an opening to the upper floor.

INTERIOR: the barn is five bays in length, with the central bay originally used for threshing, and with two storage bays to either side. It has been subdivided on the ground floor to form a series of four loose boxes with a central storage bay. This involved the replacement of the original floor with brick and cobble, with drainage gullies. An upper floor has been inserted in the outer bays; it is supported on two deep spine beams and regular joists. Internal partitions are horizontal timber boarding. The central bay is open to the roof, with a timber stair providing access to the upper floor (not inspected). The roof is assumed to match that of the southern barn, which has queen post trusses, with two tiers of trenched purlins and a ridge piece.