Barn And Adjoining Cartshed On Roadside At Offley Holes Farm

The barn and adjoining cartshed at Offley Holes Farm date from the early 17th century and early 19th century, respectively. They feature timber frames on brick sills and are dark weatherboarded. The buildings have steep pitched roofs; the barn was thatched until 1928 and is now covered with corrugated sheeting. The barn is a large six-bay structure facing east, with a three-bay open fronted cartshed adjoining on the north, also facing east. There are two projecting gabled porches on the barn, located in the second and fifth bays from the north, with the latter porch featuring a gable triangle that jetties out and is pierced for a dovecote.

Inside, the barn is not divided by a crosswall, and the floor steps down in stages from south to north. It has heavy jowled arcade posts, long straight braces to the arcade posts, and cambered tie-beams. The roof is a clasped-purlin type with two purlins on each slope. The upper purlin is clasped by a high collar, while the lower is supported by inclined heavy straight queen-posts that widen as they rise. There are aisle-ties to the low aisle walls and thin pole rafters intended for thatch. The arcade plates feature face-halved bladed scarf joints.