I am always surprised by how many large barns remain in agricultural use in an area where many have been converted into dwellings. One of the reasons was a explained to me by the owner of this example. Apparently many of her farming acquaintances had converted some of their barns or outbuildings into dwellings, only to be forced to abandon the actual farm following complaints from the new residents about the noise, dirt and smells!
The barn itself is a record of the vicissitudes of farming. It began life in the seventeenth century as a six bay, timber-framed, threshing barn with two midstreys. At some point the farm changed from arable to mixed farming and a floor was inserted at eaves level to provide a hay loft above animal stalls. It is now only used for general storage. The farmyard contains other buildings dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.
