Tithe Barn

Barton country park is now a popular public amenity but as you eat your picnic, watch the birds or supervise the toddlers on the playground imagine yourself in one of the longest standing, powerful and prolific farmsteads of the local area, Barton Manor Farm. Walk to the Tithe Barn to behold the best monument to this rich history and one of the oldest medieval barns in England. It was built to serve the farm and still retains its 14th century timber ‘cruck’ (crook or curved) roof. The timber was dated between 1334-1379 using tree ring analysis. During the time when King Æthelred put Bradford under the control of Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset in 1001, the parish church and its lands would have taken tithes (the tenth part of the property’s agricultural produce) to which the rector was entitled. The Tithe Barn at one time would have stored those tithes and rents. Its two gothic porches known as ‘streys’ are thought to have helped to winnow the corn or separate the grain from the chaff using the draughty through-wind. It is worth having a closer look inside to see if you can decode the 17th century graffiti or spot the damage from the civil wars. The glory of the barn is its magnificent timber rafters that were built strong enough to support a one hundred ton roof made of stone tiles. As you can imagine, the farm and manor were extremely valuable to the Shaftesbury monastery until its dissolution in 1539 when Henry VIII granted Bradford to privy councillor Edward Bellingham. From then on it changed hands numerous times until it was bought by Sir John Cam Hobhouse in 1841. By 1914 the Tithe Barn was no longer in use and was in need of extensive, and expensive, repair and restoration. Today the Tithe Barn is owned by English Heritage and managed by the Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust. Once you have taken in the tranquil surroundings, take an ambling journey north west along the river towards the town.