Medieval barn restored as part of £8 million conservation project

One of the largest surviving medieval timber framed barns in the South East has been restored as part of an £8 million conservation project at the renowned Great Dixter estate.

 The 500-year-old Grade II* listed great barn and 19th-century oast houses at Great Dixter, in East Sussex, whose gardens were made famous by plantsman and garden writer Christopher Lloyd, will open to the public this week following major restoration work.

 A four-year conservation project, funded with the help of a £3.89 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), has also made repairs to the original medieval house and installed a ground source heat pump and biomass boiler for heating.

 And the 20th-century Dixter Farm buildings have been converted into living quarters for horticultural students and an education centre for school groups and the community. Work on the great barn by local craftsmen has included repairs to rotting timbers and decaying joists and preserved key features such as the remains of a cattle feeding trough and the threshing floor.

 Click here to read this article from the London Evening Standard

Barn again: 15th century farm building restored to former glory

A 15th century barn that was once threatened with demolition has been restored to its former glory after an award-winning refurbishment. Tithe Barn in Shirehampton opened its doors to the public at the weekend following a long campaign of fundraising to save the historic building.

Inside the Tithe Barn Opening Day. Photo: Bob Pitchford

 The medieval barn was earmarked for closure and the site faced redevelopment in the 1990s. But a determined campaign from the local community saved the Grade II* listed building and a mixture of private and public investment funded the £1.2 million refurbishment.

 The medieval building was purchased by St Mary’s Church in 2008 in a poor state of repair. At the weekend it opened as a community centre with five separate meeting spaces with the help of £200,000-worth or funding from the church.

 Click here to read this article from This is Somerset 

 Click here to see more photos from the Shirehampton village website