Prior’s Hall Barn

One of the finest surviving medieval barns in eastern England, tree-ring dated to the mid 15th century, with a breathtaking aisled interior and crown post roof, the product of some 400 oaks.

Its crown post roof has 71 pairs of upper rafters, with a further eight pairs of rafters of decreasing size in the hipped ends. It is aisled, with eight bays, and has two great porches that allowed carts bearing the harvest to be unloaded under cover inside. The curved bracing and cusped bargeboards on the gable ends are both characteristic 14th-century features.

Except for the doors and cladding, the barn is built of oak. Originally it comprised some 900 separate pieces of unseasoned timber, the product of about 400 trees. There was no ironwork in the original construction: the straps and bolts now supporting aisle ties and other members were added much later.