Chazey Court Barn is a 17th-century Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in the town of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in England. It forms part of the Chazey Court Farm complex and is situated close to the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

at the western end of The Warren in the suburb of Caversham. The barn is a large 7 bay building with a steep roof, built of red brick. It displays a very similar construction style to

Mapledurham House Mapledurham House is an Elizabethan stately home located in the civil parish of Mapledurham in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is a Grade I listed building, first listed on 24 October 1951. History and architecture The manor of Mapledur ...

, an

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

stately home 300px, Oxfordshire.html" ;"title="Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire">Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a To ...

some to the north-west of the barn. The barn is categorised by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as being in very bad condition, subject to immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric, and with no solution agreed with the owners. It is not in use, and has visible structural cracking, whilst the gable has temporary shoring. In early 2020 it was reported that the owners were to be issued with a final notice by

Reading Borough Council Reading Borough Council is the local authority for Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. Reading has had a council since at least 1542, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, be ...

, indicating that if necessary the council would carry out the necessary works on behalf of the owner and pass on the costs to them. Work undertaken by

Oxford Archaeology Oxford Archaeology (OA, trading name of Oxford Archaeology Limited) is one of the largest and longest-established independent archaeology and heritage practices in Europe, operating from three permanent offices in Oxford, Lancaster and Cambridge ...

and using

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...

techniques dates the construction of the barn to 1611 or shortly thereafter, and also indicates that the other buildings of the farm complex date from a similar date or later. Research undertaken by the Oxfordshire Record Society in 1925 suggest that the farmhouse was the site of the Manor of Mapledurham Chazey, acquired in 1582 by the owners of the adjoining estate of Mapledurham Gurney in order to create the current Mapledurham estate. They surmise that the new owners, who also built Mapledurham House at around the same time, demolished the old manorial buildings and replaced them with new farm buildings.

Gallery

File:Chazey Court Barn 2019-09-15 18.01.43.jpg, Approach to the barn from The Warren File:Chazey Court Barn 2019-09-15 18.00.52.jpg, The gable end of the barn File:Tithe Barn, Chazey Court Farm (geograph 3897615).jpg, The barn, with farmhouse to the left

References

Chazey Court Barn Barns in England {{UK-listed-building-stub