Sharnfold Farm Barn

Sharnfold Farm Barn

A timber-framed barn dating from the late 18th to early 19th century, extended to the side in the later 19th century. The original barn is constructed on a flint base with black-painted timber weather boarding and a clay-tile roof. One end gable is finished in flint and brick, whilst the rear has a metal roof. The later extension features a metal roof and is built of coursed flint with regular red-brick banding. The floor throughout is formed of brick pavers, except for the central threshing floor which measures approximately 9 metres by 4 metres and is laid in regular slabs of stone, possibly Sussex marble.

The barn is planned as five bays aligned broadly south-west to north-east, with a threshing floor positioned between cart entrances to the south-east and north-west and an aisle to the rear. The extension is not interconnected with the main barn and functions as a separate workshop.

The principal south-east elevation features a steeply pitched clay-tiled roof, hipped at the south-west end and half-hipped at the north-east. Two roof lights have been inserted. The central cart entrance has been lowered and is fronted by a 20th-century open timber porch. The north-east gable is timber-boarded with a small, high-set taking-in door. The north-west (rear) elevation is dominated by the steeply pitched roof with two inserted roof lights, the lower section above the aisle being metal-clad. A central entrance remains open with timber boarding either side. The supporting plinth appears to be concrete. The south-west gable is constructed of coursed flint with informal red-brick detailing and retains a vestigial architrave marking a former high-set opening, though this is now largely obscured by the walls and metal roof of the late 19th-century extension. The extension has an opening with brick architrave on its south-west elevation and a timber-planked entrance door with iron-strap hinges to the south-east.

The exposed timber frame of the five-bay barn is of post and truss construction. The jowled main posts, roughly square in section, support tie beams tenoned into a continuous wall plate formed of timbers connected by face-halved scarf joints. The walls incorporate a mid-rail and sill-beam, which sits upon the flint plinth. Closely-spaced studs are supported by straight struts and bracing. The rear aisle is supported by beams running from the main posts to shorter jowled posts located within the rear wall of the frame. The roof has staggered butt purlins and pegged rafters with collars. Evidence of roof rebuilding is visible at the south-western end. Within the extension, the former barn gable displays a large rectangular panel of render with timber strips to the top and bottom, whilst the brick architrave and threshold of the original taking-in opening remain visible. The pent roof structure of the extension shows evidence of replacement.