GAZATTEER

Glastonbury Abbey Barn is one of four surviving barns which belonged to Glastonbury Abbey, one of the richest monasteries in Medieval England. Although not one of the largest monastic barns I have visited (it is 93 feet long and 33 feet wide) it is one of the finest.

It has a single, central midstrey, with wagon porches on the north and south sides. There are carved symbols of the four evangelists on the four gables. It has a very interesting double, raised cruck roof, with the lower crucks ending at the main purlin, joined with a large collar beam, and standing on these an upper cruck, with an intermediate, upper cruck between each bay. These upper crucks are supported by pairs of windbraces. The barn was donated to the people of Somerset by Mrs Frances Mapstone in 1974. It is now abbey maintained by Somerset County Council as part of the Museum of Somerset Rural Life, supported by the Friends of the Barn.

There are three other surviving barns which belonged to Glastonbury Abbey; Manor Farm, Doulting which is still in private hands; Pilton barn on Worthy Farm, owned by The Pilton Barn Trust, set up in 1996 by Michael Eavis; and the Court Barn at West Bradley which is owned by the National Trust.