Barn to south-west of St John's Farmhouse

Barn to south-west of St John's Farmhouse

This is a stone barn of Grade I importance, traditionally described as a chapel and originating from the 13th century, though it has undergone considerable later remodelling.

The building is constructed of stone rubble with dressed-stone detailing and a clay-tile hipped roof. It is rectangular in plan and comprises four bays.

The north elevation fronts onto St John's Road and features four regularly spaced narrow lancet openings positioned at a relatively high level, each with moulded stone surrounds. All four openings are now blocked with brick. The upper points of the lancets sit just below the level of the top of the wall, suggesting the side walls have been lowered from their original height. Towards the west of this elevation is a large blocked doorway with stone jambs and a two-centred arched head, finished with simple chamfered outer edge and a hood mould above. Set above the hood mould is a worn stone carving depicting a figure of a man astride a beast flourishing a horn. Due to its weathered condition, this carving is difficult to date with certainty, though it has been interpreted as either 9th or 12th-century work. If it is indeed 12th-century, it may relate to an earlier hospital building, possibly an original foundation of one of the hospitals associated with the site, though the precise dates of these remain unknown. A later door has been added further east along this elevation.

The south elevation has been heavily altered but retains parts of two window openings in positions corresponding to the outer windows on the north elevation. These appear to have been of the same form, and the elevation probably originally contained four windows arranged similarly. It certainly had a doorway positioned towards the western end, matching the entrance location on the north elevation. The elevation contains a full-height cart door (a later insertion) immediately to the west of which stands one of the high-level windows. Further west is an original opening, similar to and opposite the entrance from the north.

The west elevation contained a single high-level window, its presumed arch truncated by the later roof line. The east elevation is the most heavily altered, with only the outer jambs surviving of what are thought to be either two separate window openings placed towards the outer edge or a larger single window. These sit at approximately the same height as the opening in the west elevation and similarly appear to have been truncated by loss of their arched heads, suggesting the eastern elevation was originally gabled.

The truncation of the walling at wall-head level indicates the roof has been replaced and that the building originally had a gabled roof structure.

Internally, the features described on the exterior are all identifiable, with most doors and windows displaying splayed reveals. The base of the east elevation window openings aligns internally with a simple moulded string course formed of a single roll. This terminates at both sides at the outer edges of the window openings, though this is probably due to later truncation and it may originally have run across the entire elevation. It does not appear to have returned onto either of the side walls and may have been intended to provide architectural emphasis to the east end of the building.

The building was evidently lit from all four sides, indicating it was not part of a wider connected range, although lower structures could have been attached to it. The height of the door openings suggests it always functioned as a single open space beneath its roof, remaining relatively self-contained and almost certainly forming the principal structure of the complex. The internal roof structure is a modern replacement.