The mission to save a listed 400-year-old barn

13 hours ago

Emma StanleyNorth West

News image — The building has been closed to the public since 2008

Historic England Archive An image showing the barn's timber and stone interior. The colours are soft browns and show a high vaulted timber square frame attached to the roof trusses and showing the underside of the roof. There are eight wood pillars with stone bottoms supporting it, a stone floor and an arched wall is at the far end with seven small windows and a wooden door. — The building has been closed to the public since 2008

A great barn that has witnessed four centuries of history is getting a £1.35m roof revamp.

Originally built for agricultural storage, the 100ft (30m) long barn at Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham, Lancashire, dates back to 1605.

The leaky roof has received a number of temporary fixes over the years, but now it and the oak rafters are being repaired by specialists using heritage craft skills.

The Grade I-listed barn has been used for a variety of different activities over the years, including an indoor training area for Burnley Football Club, and more recently as an arts and exhibition space.

National Trust, Matthew Antrobus External view of the stone-built long barn at Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham. The stone is yellowy in colour and the building has four sets of four rectangular windows, three arched doorways and a further section at the end with larger arched doors. — Originally built for agricultural storage, the 100ft (30m) long barn at Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham dates back to 1605

National Trust An archive black and white aerial image shows the barn in the 1980s. It has a large sloping rectangular roof with a few patches of missing tiles and two attached smaller extensions to the front left and front right. There is an open archway in the middle. — An archive image shows the barn in the 1980s

The great barn's roof structure is largely original, and "jaw-dropping" according to Dan Taylor, the National Trust's general manager for South Cumbria and Lancashire.

"It soars above a structure which includes some of the earliest dated ox stalls in Britain," he said.

"Re-roofing the barn will enable us to open the doors for the public to be inspired, and to also enjoy use of the space for local events for which we are continuing to gather brilliant ideas."

The building has been closed to the public since 2008, with work also being done on the coach house and toilet block.

Historic Property Restoration Ltd Four construction workers on the barn roof. The rafters are exposed at the bottom with a man sitting on them, and black plastic protects the higher rafters. Three other men in high vis and hard hats watch while standing by piles of yellow insulation — The leaking roof and oak rafters are now being repaired using heritage craft skills

Historic Property Restoration Ltd A workman in a yellow high-vis vest and hard hat works on the rafters — The great barn's roof structure largely comprises original materials

Historic Property Restoration Ltd Huge original stone slates stacked by the roof by scaffolding. In the background three workmen and by the roof, part of which is covered with plastic — Early November saw the careful removal of some of the stone slates

The project will offer a chance for the local building and conservation community to develop their knowledge and experience with heritage skills, including timber repairs, pointing and the construction of a new boundary wall to the west of the barn.

Early November saw the careful removal of some of the stone slates, one at a time so as many as possible can be reused.

The work will also make a cosier environment for the colony of brown long-eared and pipistrel bats that breed and hibernate there each year.

Burnley FC Archives A grainy archive black and white picture showing seven players from Burnley FC playing inside the great barn. They are looking at the ball which is in the air by the pillars that support the roof — An archive image shows Burnley FC playing inside the great barn

National Trust A black and white archive image shows the inside of the barn in the 1980s. It shows a high vaulted timber square frame attached to the roof trusses and showing the underside of the roof. — An archive image shows the inside of the barn in the 1980s

The barn was bought by the National Trust in the 1970s and ranger David Bevis said the trust was keen to see how it could be used by the local community.

Ideas include craft markets, weddings, pop-up food events and medieval banquets when work is completed in the summer.

The great barn roofing project is the first step in a long-term development plan for Gawthorpe Hall, an Elizabethan mansion that hosted Jane Eyre author Charlotte Bronte in 1850 and 1855.

The imposing three-storey stone-fronted Gawthorpe Hall, with a tower in its centre on an additional level. The hall is surrounded by a neatly mown lawn, trees and shrubs. — Gawthorpe Hall was redesigned by Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament and Highclere Castle

Gawthorpe Hall was built between 1600 and 1605 for the Shuttleworth family
It was redesigned in the 1850s by Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament and Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey was set
Its interiors show life as it was in the Victorian era for the Kay-Shuttleworth family who resided at Gawthorpe for nearly 400 years
Famous visitors include writers Charlotte Bronte and Elizabeth Gaskell
The hall and family also inspired contemporary author Stacey Halls, who set her 2019 bestselling novel The Familiars at Gawthorpe

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