Barns
Priory Barn
Priory Barn was built at the end of the 15th century as an outbuilding of Rogers Manor (subsequently renamed The Priory and largely demolished in the 1930s). The Barn was acquired as a wreck by Elizabeth Stephenson, a founder member, and given to the Trust for its first restoration project.
The Barn is used for Trust events, but can also be hired for private functions and classes.
Barton Grange Farm
Barton Grange Farm, six buildings, including the West Barn, grouped around a courtyard, is considered to be one of the best surviving examples of a medieval farm in existence in the country.
English Heritage owns the Tithe Barn, but the Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust bought the rest of the site (excluding the privately-owned farmhouse) in 2000. The Trust won a double silver Green Apple award in 2005 for its renovation of Barton Grange Farm. Information on how to hire Barton Farmyard.
The West Barn
A fire in 1982 meant archaeologists could see that the West Barn probably pre-dated the Tithe Barn. By the late 1990s, tree ring analysis showed it had been built in the late 13th century, about 70 years earlier than the Tithe Barn. The West Barn is now thought to be the porch of a larger barn, modified by 1759.
After the fire, the Barn was a ruin for some years before becoming the subject of the Trust’s most recent major restoration project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and others. The restored Barn was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2003 and has won awards.
The building is open to the public at weekends and Wednesdays between mid April and mid October.
The West Barn hosts a number of concerts and musical recitals throughout the year. It is also popular for exhibitions by professional artists and local groups.
It can also be hired for weddings and functions.
The Tithe Barn
The Tithe Barn, dating from the 14th century, originally belonged to the nuns of the nearby Shaftesbury Abbey, the richest nunnery in England. When Shaftesbury Abbey was dissolved in 1539, the grange became a farm. The barn was in use until 1974. It is owned and protected by English Heritage and managed by the Preservation Trust.
