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{{Short description|Medieval tithe barn in Great Coxwell, Oxfordshire, England}}
[[File:Great Coxwell Tithe Barn c.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The tithe barn]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox building
|name = Great Coxwell Barn
|image = Great Coxwell Barn - geograph.org.uk - 1750413.jpg
|image_caption = The barn from the south
|map_type = Oxfordshire
|map_caption = Great Coxwell Barn
|map_dot_label =
|alternate_names = Great Coxwell Great Barn<br>Great Coxwell Tithe Barn
|status = preserved, no longer in agricultural use
|building_type = porch [[barn]]
|architectural_style = [[English Gothic architecture|Gothic]]
|location = [[Great Coxwell]]
|address = Great Coxwell,<br>Oxfordshire SN7 7LZ
|coordinates = {{coord|51.64434|-1.61279|display=inline,title}}
|altitude = {{convert|115|m|disp=flip}}
|completion_date = about 1292
|client = [[Beaulieu Abbey]], Hampshire
|owner = [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]]
|height = {{convert|48|ft}}
|other_dimensions = length {{convert|152|ft}}<br>width {{convert|43|ft}}
|structural_system =
|material = [[Cotswolds#Cotswold stone|Cotswold stone]] walls<br>Timber posts and roof frame<br>[[Taynton Limestone Formation|Stonesfield slate]] roof
|floor_area = {{convert|5502|sqft|0}}
|designations = [[Listed building#Categories of listed building|Grade I listed building]]<br>[[Scheduled monument|Scheduled Ancient Monument]]
|parking = small lay-by outside
|website = [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/great-coxwell-barn Great Coxwell Barn]
}}
 
'''Great Coxwell Barn''' is a large 14th-century [[barn]]England onin the northernMiddle edgeAges|Medieval]] of[[tithe thebarn]] village ofat [[Great Coxwell]], in [[Oxfordshire]], [[England]], though (formerly in [[Berkshire]]), England. It is locatedon inthe northern edge of the [[Valevillage of WhiteGreat Horse]]Coxwell, nearwhich theis about {{convert|9|mi}} northeast of [[market townSwindon]] ofin neighbouring [[FaringdonWiltshire]].
 
The barn was built about 1292 for the [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] [[Beaulieu Abbey]] in [[Hampshire]], which had held the [[Manorialism|manor]] of Great Coxwell since 1205. Since 1956 it has been in the care of the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]].
==Name and use==
There is some dispute about the name of the barn: although nearby (old) signposts direct visitors towards the ''Great Coxwell Tithe Barn'', the visitor's guide Munby (1996) published by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] (the owner since 1956) is entitled ''Great Coxwell Barn''.
 
The barn has been a [[Listed building#Categories of listed building|Grade I listed building]] since 1966<ref>{{NHLE |num=1183045 |desc=The Great Barn |grade=I |accessdate=1 September 2017}}</ref> and is also a [[Scheduled monument|Scheduled Ancient Monument]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1006313 |desc=Tithe Barn |grade=scheduled |fewer-links=yes |accessdate=1 September 2017}}</ref>
When it was built, it was as part of a [[monastic grange]] under the control of [[Beaulieu Abbey]], in [[Hampshire]]. As such the barn would have been used to store most, if not all, of the crop of the grange. Also crops were received, as tithes, to Beaulieu Abbey as rent from tenant farmers, for acreages owned by the Abbey. Beaulieu Abbey collected these tithes from tenant farmers and parishioners, who were obliged to deliver a portion of their crop to the barn. These tithes were recorded by a clerk who had his office inside the west door.
 
==Building==
Since the barn is very large&mdash;the internal measurements of the main "hall" being {{convert|144|ft}} by {{convert|38|ft}}&mdash;it could be argued that the barn should be named the ''Great Barn - Great Coxwell''. The barn is one of a number of barns termed ''great barns'' in Aston (2000):
Great Coxwell was a large manor, which the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 recorded as 20 [[Hide (unit)|hides]]. In 1205 [[John, King of England|King John]] granted the manor to Beaulieu Abbey.
 
When the [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] [[Beaulieu Abbey]] in Hampshire was founded in 1204–05, [[John, King of England|King John]] endowed it with a group of [[Manorialism|manors]] that were headed by Great Faringdon and included Great Coxwell. Beaulieu retained the manors until 1538, when it surrendered all its properties to [[the Crown]] in the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]].{{sfn|Page|Ditchfield|1924|pp=81–82}}
{{Quote|The real glories are however the great barns (erroneously called tithe barns or by estate agents tythe [''sic''] barns). These were the [[warehouse]]s of the [[Middle Ages]] where vast quantities of food was stored, and they show the skill and craftsmanship of the medieval workman at its best. The biggest are enormous – [[Bradford on Avon]] and [[Tisbury, Wiltshire]], Great Coxwell in Oxfordshire ... (p107).|Aston}}
 
The Abbey seems to have had the barn built about 1292. [[Dendrochronology]] has established that some of the timbers in the roof of the barn were felled in the winter of 1291–92, and building with [[Wood drying|unseasoned]] timber was then common practice. Other timbers were felled earlier, from 1253 onwards.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/great-coxwell-barn/features/how-old-is-great-coxwell-barn- |title=How old is Great Coxwell Barn? |publisher=[[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] |access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>
It is also noted as a favourite of the well known poet William Morris who described the Barn as "unapproachable in its dignity".{{cn|date=July 2014}} He would often bring guests to marvel at its splendour.
 
The barn is built of [[Cotswolds#Cotswold stone|Cotswold stone]], with [[Rubble masonry|rubblestone]] walls and [[ashlar]] [[buttress]]es. The roof has a timber frame, borne on pairs of timber posts and surfaced with [[Taynton Limestone Formation|Stonesfield slate]]. In the main part of the barn are six pairs of posts, meaning that it has east and west [[Aisle#Architecture|aisles]] and seven [[Bay (architecture)|bays]]. The west porch has one pair of timber posts and is of two bays. The architectural historian Sir [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] considered the interior to be the finest of any barn in England.{{sfn|Pevsner|1966|p=28}}
==History==
[[File:great-coxwell.png|right|thumb|200|Sketch map of Great Coxwell]]
The barn was part of the [[manorialism|manor]] of Great Coxwell which was attached to the manor of Faringdon. This was originally a Royal manor given to the [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] monks by [[John of England|King John]] in 1203 for the founding of an abbey. The manor house or grange at Coxwell is believed to have stood opposite Court House Farm. The centre of Faringdon Manor was at [[Wyke, Oxfordshire|Wyke]], a now lost grange and site of the abbey, just north of the town. The [[abbey]] moved to [[Beaulieu, Hampshire]] in the [[New Forest]] but Faringdon and its granges remained under its control. The barn is now in the care of the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]].
 
[[File:GreatCoxwell Barn WestPorch interior.jpg|thumb|left|Inside the west porch, looking east toward the main part of the barn]]
==Structure==
The barn is {{convert|152|ft}} long, {{convert|43|ft}} wide and its roof ridge is {{convert|48|ft}} high. It is aligned almost north–south, with a large west porch and much smaller east porch. An internal wall partly separates the west porch from the main body of the barn. As originally built, each porch had a door large enough for wagons,; the west porch had also a small south door and the main barn had small doors in its north and south walls. In the centre of the barn is a [[threshing]] floor on which grain was threshed by hand with [[flail]]s, with the large east and west doors open for a through draught to separate the grain from the chaff.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}
The barn, built in the first decade of the 14th century, is constructed of [[Cotswold stone]] and the roof is constructed of [[Taynton Limestone Formation|Stonesfield slate]]. The barn is aisled, to support the massive roof. There is a [[dovecote]] over the door of the east porch. The floor area is {{convert|5,502|sqft}}.
 
The barn was part of a [[monastic grange]]. It stored most, if not all, of the crop of the grange and received tithes from peasant tenants who were obliged to render a tenth of their crop to the abbey. These tithes were recorded by a clerk called a granger, whose office was in the west porch.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}
Also note the interesting carved graffiti on the stone structural supporting columns. Similar carvings can be found in the local [[Great Coxwell#Church|parish church of St. Giles]].{{cn|date=July 2014}}
 
==After the dissolution of the abbey==
==Gallery==
[[File:GreatCoxwell Barn RoofCentre.jpg|thumb|The centre of the roof, from below]]
This gallery shows general views of the Great Barn.
In 1538 Beaulieu Abbey was [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolved]] and its estates were seized by the Crown. In 1540 the Crown sold the manor of Great Coxwell to a local landowner, William Morys (or Morris). The Morris family held the estate until 1638 when it was sold to George Pratt, who already held the neighbouring estate of [[Coleshill, Oxfordshire|Coleshill]]. The Pratt family held both Great Coxwell and Coleshill estates until 1700, when they were sold to George Pratt Richmond, also known as Webb. The estate was still in the Webb family early in the 19th century.{{sfn|Page|Ditchfield|1924|pp=487–489}}
{{commons category|Great Barn - Great Coxwell}}
 
In the 18th century the large west doorway was bricked up and the west porch was converted into a stable. South of the barn a brick-built cart shed with a first-floor hay-loft or granary was added to the farmyard.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1368113 |desc=Shelter Shed with Granary |grade=II |fewer-links=yes |accessdate=1 September 2017}}</ref> In the 19th century mechanical threshing superseded manual threshing, so the barn's threshing floor lost its original purpose. The small doorways in the north and south gable walls were replaced with ones large enough for wagons. Other buildings were added to the surrounding farmyard.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}
<gallery>
Image:greatbarn-greatcoxwell-01.jpg | The ''Great Barn'' from roughly SW
Image:greatbarn-greatcoxwell-02.jpg | The southern-gable
Image:greatbarn-greatcoxwell-04.jpg | Interior showing western aisle
Image:greatbarn-greatcoxwell-05.jpg | Interior showing roof structure
</gallery>
 
From 1871 [[William Morris]] (1834–96) rented [[Kelmscott Manor]], {{convert|6|mi|0}} north of Great Coxwell. He called the barn "as noble as a cathedral"{{sfn|Pevsner|1966|p=147}} and brought many of his guests to see it.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}
==Sources==
*Sue Clifford and Angela King, ''England in Particular'' (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2006), ISBN 0-340-82616-9, pp. 410–411.
*Timothy Darvill, Paul Stamper and Jane Timby, ''England: An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites from Earliest Times to AD 1600'' (OUP, 2002), ISBN 0-19-284101-7, pp. 285–6.
*F.W.B. Charles, ''The Great Barn at Bredon'' (Oxbow Monographs 76; 1997), ISBN 1-900188-27-9, pp. 14–16.
* {{Citation
| title=[[Mick's Archaeology]]
| first=Mick | last=Aston
| publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
| year=2000}}
* {{Citation
| title=[[Great Coxwell Barn (visitor guide)|Great Coxwell Barn]]
| first=Julian | last=Munby
| publisher=The National Trust (Enterprises), Swindon, Wiltshire.
| year=1996}}
 
[[Ernest Cook]] (1865–1955) acquired numerous estates including Coleshill. Cook left his estates to the National Trust, which thus has owned the barn since 1956. Most of the modern farm buildings around the barn were demolished. In 1961 the Trust treated the timbers against [[deathwatch beetle]] and extensively restored the roof.{{Cn|date=July 2022}}
==External links==
*[http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geograph.co.uk/photos/05/82/058275_d1a04a54.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.geograph.co.uk/photo/58275&h=480&w=640&sz=103&tbnid=iTvd3JDB7IcroM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=135&hl=en&start=5&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2B%2522Great%2BCoxwell%2522%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG exterior photograph]
*[http://www.pbase.com/johnwaine/image/35170194 interior photograph]
*[http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/great-coxwell-barn/ The National Trust]
*[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=38100 Beaulieu Abbey history]
*[http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=4070704 Photos of Great Coxwell Barn on geograph.org.uk]
 
==Access==
{{coord|51.64416|N|1.61264|W|region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SU269940)|display=title}}<!-- Note: WGS84 lat/long, converted from OSGB36 grid ref -->
[[File:great-coxwell.png|thumb|Sketch map of Great Coxwell]]
The barn is open to the public daily from dawn to dusk. Just outside the farmyard is a lay-by large enough for a small number of visitors' cars to be parked. Great Coxwell can be reached by [[Stagecoach West]] [[Stagecoach Gold|Gold]] bus route 66 from Swindon, [[Oxford]] and [[Faringdon]]. Buses run generally every 20 minutes from Mondays to Saturdays and every 30 minutes on Sundays.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/West/66_Swindon_2_April_2017.pdf |title=Swindon • Faringdon Faringdon • Oxford 66 |publisher=[[Stagecoach Group]] |date=2 April 2017 |access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> The nearest stop is just off the main [[A420 road]], about {{convert|0.6|mi|0}} from the barn.
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
==Bibliography==
[[File:GreatCoxwell Barn WSW.jpg|thumb|The barn from the west]]
*{{Cite book |last=Aston |first=Mick |author-link=Mick Aston |year=2000 |title=[[Mick's Archaeology]] |place=Stroud |publisher=[[The History Press|Tempus Publishing]] |isbn=978-0752414805 |page=107 }}
*{{Cite book |last=Charles |first=Frederick W. B. |year=1997 |title=The Great Barn at Bredon: its Fire and Reconstruction |series=Oxbow Monographs |volume=76 |place=Oxford |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=1-900188-27-9 |pages=14–16 }}
*{{Cite book |last1=Clifford |first1=Sue |author1-link=Sue Clifford |last2=King |first2=Angela |author2-link=Angela King (environmentalist) |year=2006 |title=England in Particular |place=London |publisher=[[Hodder & Stoughton]] |isbn=0-340-82616-9 |pages=410–411 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Currie |first=C. R. J. |year=1972 |title=Scarf-joints in the North Berkshire and Oxford Area |journal=Oxoniensia |volume=XXXVII |place=Oxford |publisher=[[Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society]] |issn=0308-5562 |pages=179, 184 |url= http://oxoniensia.org/volumes/1972/currie.pdf }}
*{{Cite book |last1=Darvill |first1=Timothy |author1-link=Timothy Darvill |last2=Stamper |first2=Paul |last3=Timby |first3=Jane |year=2002 |title=England: An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites from Earliest Times to AD 1600 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-284101-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordarchaeolog00timo/page/285 285–286] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordarchaeolog00timo/page/285 }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Ditchfield |editor1-first=P. H. |editor1-link=Peter Ditchfield |editor2-last=Page |editor2-first=W. H. |editor2-link=William Henry Page |year=1907 |chapter=House of Cistercian monks: The cell or grange of Faringdon |title=A History of the County of Berkshire |volume=II |series=[[Victoria County History]] |publisher=[[Archibald Constable]] & Co |place=London |pages=81–82 |url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol2/pp81-82 }}
*{{Cite book |editor1-last=Doubleday |editor1-first=H. Arthur |editor2-last=Page |editor2-first=W. H. |editor2-link=William Henry Page |year=1903 |chapter=Houses of Cistercian monks: Abbey of Beaulieu |title=A History of the County of Hampshire |volume=II |series=[[Victoria County History]] |place=Westminster |pages=140–146 |url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol2/pp140-146 }}
*{{Cite book |last1=Horn |first1=Walter |author1-link=Walter Horn |last2=Born |first2=Ernest |author2-link=Ernest Born |year=1965 |title=The Barns of the Abbey of Beaulieu at its Granges of Great Coxwell and Beaulieu St Leonards |place=Berkeley |publisher=[[University of California Press]] }}
*{{Cite book |last=Munby |first=Julian |author-link=J. T. Munby |year=1996 |title=Great Coxwell Barn |place=Swindon |publisher=[[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|The National Trust]] (Enterprises) }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Page |editor1-first=W. H. |editor1-link=William Henry Page |editor2-last=Ditchfield |editor2-first=P. H. |editor2-link=Peter Ditchfield |others=assisted by John Hautenville Cope |year=1924 |chapter=Parishes: Great Coxwell |title=A History of the County of Berkshire |volume=IV |series=[[Victoria County History]] |place=London |publisher=The St Catherine Press |url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol4/pp487-489 }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Piper |editor1-first=John |editor1-link=John Piper (artist) |editor2-last=Betjeman |editor2-first=John |editor2-link=John Betjeman |year=1949 |title=Berkshire |series=Murray's architectural guide |place=London |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] }}{{page needed |date=September 2017}}
*{{cite book |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |year=1966 |title=Berkshire |series=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|The Buildings of England]] |place=Harmondsworth |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |pages=28, 147–148 }}
 
==External links==
{{Commons category|Great Coxwell Barn}}
*{{cite web |url= https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/great-coxwell-barn |title=Great Coxwell Barn |publisher=[[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]]}}
 
[[Category:13th-century architecture in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Grade I listed barns in England]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Oxfordshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed agricultural buildings]]
[[Category:History of Berkshire]]
[[Category:Visitor attractions in Oxfordshire]]
[[Category:National Trust properties in Oxfordshire]]
[[Category:BarnsTourist attractions in Oxfordshire]]
[[Category:Tithe barns in Europe]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Oxfordshire]]
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