Barn At Higher Ridge

The barn at Higher Ridge is a field barn, likely built in 1608, as indicated by a date scratched on the original door. It is constructed from rubble, with some chert and large field stones used for the foundation, and features a corrugated iron roof that has replaced the original thatch. The barn has a long, narrow shape with half-hipped ends and low paired doors in flush openings on each side. The east side includes three ventilation slits in deep splayed openings and one enlarged square opening; each gable has a square opening, with one on the south side partially blocked. There are paired plank doors on each side, supported by wood lintels; the doors on the higher west side are partly 17th-century, featuring original strap hinges and a combination of nailed vertical and horizontal double planking. An added raking buttress is present on the right side of the east-side entry, and there are severe structural cracks in the north gable wall.

Inside, the barn consists of four whole bays and two half bays, with five pairs of jointed crucks that extend down to about one meter from the floor. It has A-frame trusses with a trenched purlin and a second purlin set low, nearly at plate level, along with early rafters and a diagonal ridge. About 1.5 meters above the floor, there are eight small square recesses with rough stone lintels, located in each non-door bay and one in each gable end. This building is unusually well preserved, missing only its thatch roofing.