Cruck Barn At Upleadon Court, To North West Of House

This is a 15th-century cruck barn, with extensions dating to the 17th century, and alterations in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The barn is located to the north-west of Upleadon Court house. The construction is primarily timber-framed with brick nogging, resting on a stone plinth. Some timber framing is faced with butt-jointed boarding or weatherboarding, with sections of Flemish-bond brickwork. The roof is covered with corrugated iron. The barn originally comprised five bays, with the ends formerly lofted. Extensions are built as lean-tos along parts of the north face.

The north facade features a central pair of double-boarded doors, with a door of two panels to the right, incorporating timber framing faced with weatherboarding. A lean-to runs up to the gable, which has a catslide roof and weatherboarding. The left return has corrugated-iron cladding. An earlier extension to the left has a catslide roof, with a two-panel high timber-framed front wall which stops short of the end. Double-boarded doors and corrugated iron are present on the left return. A section of brickwork replaces timber framing on the ground floor of the left return, with surviving timber framing above. A double-boarded sliding door and a six-pane window have been added to the left return. Above the barn, crucks rise to a half-hip, with a two-panel high timber frame between, partially boarded and partially glazed. The right return also features a half-hip roof, with butt-jointed boarding and a shuttered opening on the left, a boarded door in the centre, and a shuttered opening above on the right. The gable of the lean-to has weatherboarding and a boarded door on the right.

Inside, there is a part stone-paved threshing floor, with a brick-paved bay to the right. Short spurs were inserted on the right side, likely in the 19th century. Full timber framing survives to the rear wall and within the barn behind the lean-tos, extending three panels high, with braces connecting the main posts to the wallplate. A door leading from the threshing floor to the yard is a later alteration. Woven wattle serves as air vents in the upper panels. Cruck trusses are positioned either side of the threshing floor, with one pair of purlins supported by a collar and a square ridge; mortices indicate braces once extended to the purlins over the threshing floor. A fully closed cruck truss is located to the left, with later brick infill below and boarding above. The floor has been raised in the end bay of the 20th century, and an original door’s shaped head is visible in the rear wall on the right. The loft floor has been removed. Framing with a continuous rail is present in the side walls of the end bay. There's a chamfer on one stud and a mortice for a door head showing the original door's location in the rear wall. The gable doorway is a later alteration. Originally constructed as a three-bay barn with a single-bay stable or oxhouse to the left, a bay was added to the right, likely in the 17th or 18th century to serve as a cowhouse. Lean-tos were added, one in the 17th century and another in the late 19th century. This is a good example of a medieval cruck barn, and forms a group with the nearby house, brick barn, and church.