The Barn at Paul’s Hall, Belchamp St Paul used to belong to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It is important because some of the timbers have been dated to circa 1000, so it may be Saxon in origin. I was fortunate to meet the owner, who allowed me to walk around and photograph inside and outside.
It is a seven bay, timber-framed, aisled barn with Essex, clapboard cladding and a corrugated asbestos roof. Although not very pretty, the latter has at least kept the barn dry and helped preserve the ancient timbers.
This has an excellent illustrated,historical summary of barn development.
You can download the full .pdf file by clicking on this icon: