Visitor Centre at Markshall Estate (formerly known as Bouchier's Barn)

A former timber-framed barn, built in the C15 at Bouchier’s Grange Farm, Coggeshall, to which a midstrey was added in the C18. In 1991 it was dismantled and relocated 1.6km to the north-west as a visitor centre/café at Markshall Estate.

MATERIALS: timber-framed and weatherboarded on a brick plinth with a plain-tile roof.

PLAN: it is rectangular-on-plan, aligned north-north-west to south-south-east, and has a central ‘nave’ with aisles to each side, divided along its length into three bays. The early-C21 addition adjoining its south end is not of special interest and is excluded from the listing.

EXTERIOR: the building is primarily clad in weatherboard, with the gabled midstrey at the centre of the principal east elevation infilled with a full-height mullion and transom window incorporating glazed double doors at ground-floor level. To the centre of the west elevation there is a pair of late-C20 fire exit doors while the north and south ends both have late-C20 diamond mullion windows across original mullion windows; a four-light diamond mullion at the north end and an eight-light diamond mullion at the south end. An early-C21 addition (not of special interest) now masks most of the south end. The half-hipped roof is steeply-pitched with gablets at each end and a sprocketed eaves.

INTERIOR: the interior has exposed framing throughout and consists of a central ‘nave’ with aisles on each side, divided along its length into three bays by two trusses from a crown-post, collar-purlin roof. The trusses are supported on jowled and stepped aisle posts linked at the top, across the central ‘nave’, by cambered tie beams, each with a plain square crown post and one original down-brace and two upward braces supporting a crown purlin which, in turn, supports the collars of the late-C20 rafter couples. The arcade posts all have slightly arched braces to the tie beams and aisle plates while the aisle ties are stepped and jowled with aisle braces trenched into them, tenoned into the aisle posts at top and the wall posts at the bottom. The timbers forming the arcade and aisle plates are joined by edged-halved and bridled scarf joints. The wall posts to the corners are also stepped and jowled and the close studding to the walls is pegged. The tall end walls both have girding rails and mullion windows; a four-light mullion at the north end and an eight-light mullion at the south end.