Tithe Barn, Ashleworth Court

The tithe barn at Ashleworth Court dates to circa 1500, built for Abbot Newland of Bristol, and was altered in the 19th century. It is constructed of coursed, squared blue lias stone with squared stone dressings, and has a stone slate roof. This six-unit barn features two porches on one side. The road-facing elevation has diagonally-set buttresses at all corners, with a visible wall-plate and a heavy tilting fillet. A boarded opening is visible under the eaves, featuring a buttressed porch with double boarded doors in two sections, heavy iron hinges, chamfered jambs, a cambered timber lintel, and two square holes in the gable. The centre section has a single buttress and two slit air vents on each side. The right porch mirrors the left, with two slit air vents on the right end, and a former window under the eaves boarded over on the left. The left return corner has buttresses (the right one rebuilt in the mid-20th century). A glazed opening with a flat stone voussoir head is located to the right of the centre, alongside a boarded doorway above with a heavy stone lintel. Eleven square holes are present in the gable, including a stone quatrefoil in the centre. The parapet gable has a cross-gablet apex, mirroring the porches, while the right end gable has been replaced with weatherboarding.

Inside the barn, the left side features a stone-paved threshing floor, with rear doors lower than those facing the road. Air vents have splayed interiors and timber lintels, and square holes are scattered across the walls. Evidence remains of the original central cross wall, and of low walls that were inserted on the right threshing floor and subsequently removed. The roof is of 10 bays, with trusses against the gables. These trusses have queen strut centre timbers, two pairs of purlins, and curved wind braces (some missing), along with a plank ridge. Mortices indicate the former presence of wall posts at the ends of the tie beams. Additional windows are found at the right end, while slots for a floor are visible at eaves level across two bays, and at collar level in one bay. The left end was walled off with brick in the mid-19th century, with a blocked door at a lower level and a boarded door leading to the threshing floor at a higher level. A lower floor was used for stabling with a loft above for feed preparation, and further lofting at eaves level. C17, C18, and early C19 names and dates are cut into the porch area of the threshing floor. A lean-to structure on the rear is not considered to be of special interest. In the 19th century, the barn was converted to a cowhouse, with the cowstalls subsequently removed. This is an important medieval survival, forming a group with the church and court. It is recognized as an ancient monument (Gloucester No 118) and is owned by the National Trust.