Burstow Park Farm Barn

Owned by the National Trust this Ox Barn is thought to date back to the 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. The timber wheels of carts dried out and became loose over time, hence were backed into the pond to allow the timber spokes and fellies time to swell and tighten.

Here we see the internal view of the barn with hay loft access hatch and well preserved ladder. Green Oak Carpentry completed the repairs in 2017 for the National Trust who are among our best clients.

In this picture we see the spine beam running down the long axis of the barn jointing to the top plate of the end wall with its own centrally located jowl post, no doubt to assist in carrying the heavy loads imposed when the loft was filled with hay. Note the slot in the floor to facilitate throwing the hay down to the animals below.

This attractive Sampson Post supports the spine beams at the mid-point and is cut from a single section of timber. The lower section is octagonal and returns to a square section with four large chamfers with ‘lambs tongue’ stops, the head is then decorated with a scroll or cyma recta moulding; altogether a lovely piece of carpentry. Note the hand forged brackets for the tack and spectacular forged nail.

See here the lovely clear assembly marks IIIV and IIV cut with a ‘race knife’ onto the spine beam. It is normal practice to see the V’s inverted to aid clarity. The logic is not quite clear as the marks alternate between the common joists, a feature which is consistent both sides the entire length of the spine beam.

This is a handsome trussed roof with high level collar only trusses 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 becomes more expensive and the stature of available trees reduces, in part due to the demand on our timber resources for ship building required to maintain English maritime supremacy.

We put ply decking down over the existing fragile timber boarding to allow retention of as many as possible of the boards and allow safe access to the loft. Note the post conveniently positioned to assist access, with a well-worn top.