Tithe Barn, Highleadon Court

The Tithe Barn at Highleadon Court is a barn dating from the 15th or early 16th century, originally built for the Abbey of St. Peter in Gloucester. It features close-studded timber framing with vertical boarding to cover voids and some weatherboarding. The base is approximately 2.3 meters high, constructed from well-squared, coursed stone, and topped with a corrugated-iron roof. The barn consists of seven bays with a central threshing floor.

On the east face, which faces the yard, there is a chamfered plinth at the stone base and a further chamfered offset near the top of the stonework. Originally, there was a stone buttress for each bay; three remain on the left half, while one has been removed and patched with brick. The framing is two panels high, with some open panels; the studs are grooved for laths that would have supported daub. The central doors are raised a step and consist of double boarded doors that reach the height of the plinth. Above these doors is timber-framed infill faced with butt-jointed boarding and a central shuttered opening. The head of the doors features a Tudor arch, with close studding above.

To the right, three buttresses are missing, and there are also two missing studs by the doors. The gable stonework lacks a plinth or offsets. Inside, the barn has a stone-paved threshing floor, and inserted one-meter-high walls on each side have since been removed. The main doorposts and stonework are rebated for the original inward-opening doors. The heavy main timbers of the frame include trusses with cambered collars, curved braces to the main posts, a stub tie beam, and angle struts. There is a further short strut above the collar, along with an additional collar and crown post. Two pairs of flat purlins are present, and the curved wind-braces largely survive, although there is no ridge piece. The rafters are intact, with remnants of plaster on laths or tiling battens in places. Late 20th-century corn bins have been added in one half of the barn. Overall, this is a well-preserved example of a late medieval barn.