Tithe Barn

An early barn, of which no remains survive today, was built on the site of the current barn around 1300. The current barn dates to the 1330s, probably , and was certainly built before 1367. It originally belonged to the nuns of the nearby Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset, the richest nunnery in England. It was used for storage of tithes during the Middle Ages. The abbey was entitled to 10% of the produce of its tenants. When Shaftesbury Abbey was dissolved in 1539, the grange became a farm. By 1914 the building was superfluous to the farm's requirements and, rather than demolish it, the then owner, Sir Charles Hobhouse, donated the barn to the Wiltshire Archaeological Society. The farm continued…

A large building, long by wide, the barn forms part of a range of farm buildings grouped around an open rectangular yard. There are two large porches on the northern side to allow entry for loaded carts. Opposite them are smaller porches to allow the empty carts to leave. The apertures high above the doors, which still contain some original wood, are left unglazed to allow owls to enter in search of vermin. An attraction for visitors is the barn's interior, with its timber cruck roof spanning 14 bays divided by A-shaped trusses supporting 100 tons of stone tiles.