Conservation & Heritage Issue 52 Summer/Autumn 2026 - Flipbook - Page 9
The interior of the medieval barn on completion of repairs © Historic England Archive
Manor Farm Barn,
Highclere Estate
Originally the building was a threshing barn built for the Bishop of Winchester between
the years 1451-1453.
Manor Farm Barn has been dated by dendrochronology
to the mid C15. A series of timber cores were taken from
various parts of the frame which demonstrated that the
timbers were felled in the winter of 1450/51 and the summer
of 1451. Historical documentation survives which describes
the building of a great barn at Old Burghclere for the Bishop
of Winchester in 1451-53.
The Barn as it stands today is a remarkable survival of the
original construction, remaining in the same agricultural use
that it was originally constructed for.
Understanding Significance; Initial Assessment
BHB Architects were appointed in 2005 to undertake a
visual condition assessment of all listed structures across the
Highclere Estate which included the Medieval Tithe Barn at
Manor Farm. The original condition report on the building
took the form of a visual inspection from ground level which
noted a number of key concerns with the timber framing.
These historical documents also indicate that the barn was
always boarded on its exterior, that it was roofed in plain tiles
and underpinned with chalk using a lime mortar. The various
materials used all came from nearby Hampshire settlements:
the freestone was brought by cart from Sydmonton; the
shingles for the porch roofs came from Earlstone and
Sandford, and the lime from East Woodhay. The documents
also describe the numbers of nails, the numbers of tiles and
that there were two new locks provided to secure the doors
of the barn.
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Manor Farm Barn was deemed to be in poor condition. The
report noted that a timber framed building relies heavily
on the various elements of the structure acting together
to provide its strength. There was significant movement
in the structure caused by various defective joints in the
Conservation & Heritage Journal
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