Description

TL 62 NE GREAT BARDFIELD BRAINTREE ROAD
(east side)

5/127 Barn approx. 45 metres s
2.5.55 east of Great Lodge
(Formerly listed with
GV I Great Lodge)

Barn. Early C16. Red brick in English bond, roofed with corrugated iron.
Rectangular plan aligned approx. N-S, internal span approx. 10 metres, length
approx. 24 metres, with central threshing floor and large entrance to each side.
The gable ends have 5 tiers of loops with internal splays and timber lintels,
the lowest tier blocked externally. The side walls have 2 tiers of similar
loops, all blocked externally. The E entrance has a brick arch rebuilt in the
C18/C19; the W entrance is supported by a rolled steel joist, but retains the
original brickwork above. The N half has a modern inserted floor, with ladders
and platforms to the peak of the roof. The roof is constructed in 8 bays, with
a higher truss over the threshing floor than elsewhere. This truss is of arch-
braced collar construction with one vertical and 2 raking struts to a higher
collar, and 2 raking struts above. All the other trusses are of king-post
construction, 2 of the king-posts being forked at the base. They stand on
unusually long tiebeams (10 metres), 6 of which are scarfed. The scarfs are all
splayed and tabled, with central keys and square undersquinted butts, a
construction normally associated with C13 and C14 buildings. In this building
most of the scarfs are face-splayed, a form not known elsewhere. The tiebeams
are on wallpieces supported on timber corbels, with arched braces from the
wallpieces. There are 2 raking struts from each tiebeam to each principal
rafter, and 2 more raking struts from each side of the king-post to each
principal rafter. In each roof pitch there are 3 purlins, the middle purlins
butt-jointed to the principal rafters, the common rafters butt-jointed to the
middle purlins and supported by the upper and lower purlins. There are curved
wind-braces above the middle purlins to the principal rafters. The common
rafters are jointed at the apex, without a ridge-piece. This construction is
unique in Essex, and may be unique in England. The barn is the only surviving
building from what was a royal manor up to the time of Henry VIII, which was
granted to Anne of Cleeves at the annulment of their marriage in 1540. The
scale and construction indicate a royal building of the time of Henry VIII, but
it is also possible that it relates to the period of Anne of Cleeves and is the
work of continental craftsmen. (C.A. Hewett, English Historic Carpentry, 1980,
figure 248, page 264). RCHM 3.

Listing NGR: TL6948929061

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17536133

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide