Owned by the National Trust this Ox Barn is mid-16th century and is a fine example of a three bay stable/barn with tack storage and hay loft over.  In the foreground is the cart pond with its shallow slope to one side and hard base to allow the carts easy access. In the summer the timber wheels of carts dried out and became loose, hence the carts were backed into cart ponds to allow the timber spokes and fellies time to swell and tighten. Repair works for the National Trust were completed in 2017.

It took the team a little while to figure out what we were looking, and puzzled over the low doors for a while until it dawned on us that this was a stable-barn for oxen!

All the details of this building are beautifully preserved. The hay loft access hatch and ladder especially so. Note the carpenter’s assembly marks, cut with a race knife onto the spine beam running down the long axis of the barn, and centrally located Sampson post, to assist in carrying the heavy loads imposed when the loft was filled with hay. Also note the slot in the floor to facilitate throwing the hay down to the Oxen below.

The building has a handsome trussed roof with high level ‘collar only truss’ to give unimpeded access within the hay loft. The butt purlins are typical of a later style of carpentry which allows the use of smaller section scantlings for the common rafters. A useful device when timber has become scarcer and more expensive.