The Town House

The Town House, located on the north side of Barley Church End in Barley, is a building of group value dating primarily to the early 16th century, with alterations circa 1853 and circa 1910. Originally built by the Gild of St. Catherine, it served as a Guildhall or Church House, used as a marriage feast room, free school, almshouses, and for other public purposes; it is now a village hall.

The building is timber-framed on a brick base and has been plastered. It has a steeply pitched tiled roof. The main façade is four bays, with the bay to the left being larger. A continuous jetty extends across the front, supported by curved brackets to the main bearers. The ground floor has three mid-19th century entrances with plank and muntin doors, each with a four-centred arched head and architraves. There are also four two-light lattice casement windows. The first floor features two mid-19th century, eight-light mullion and transom hipped half dormers, along with two three-light casement windows. Enclosed external staircases, one dating to the mid-19th century on the right and one from the early 20th century on the left, flank the elevation, both with roofs descending from the main slope and featuring four-centred arched entrances with gabled heads. The inner returns show subsidiary doors beneath the stairs and upper quatrefoil lights on all return faces.

The left gable end presents a massive original stack, constructed of exposed red brick with multiple coped offsets and originally external. It was built out to the front in the early 20th century with ground floor flint and brick cladding. A short, rear-facing lean-to exhibits exposed plate and purlin rafters. A similar stack at the right end has been incorporated into Kirk Cottage and also displays exposed plate and purlin rafters to the front. To the rear are several lattice casement windows and a late-19th century, two-storey gabled wing with an open ground floor, and a two-storey, flat-roofed addition.

The interior ground floor reveals exposed timber framing of large scantling, with close studding and jowled posts. There is a through passage to the left of centre and a trimmer joist for the original staircase. Original shutter grooves and mullion seatings also remain. Notable features include axial and cross "axial" chamfered bearers with carved foliate stops, plus a run-out stop chamfered bearer within the left bay. The upper chamber exhibits jowled posts, arched braces to chamfered cambered tie beams, collars to halved principals clasping purlins, curved windbraces (ogee to the front slope only), and reveals continuous public use documented in inquests from 1609 and 1638.