
A tithe barn was a type of
barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen ...
used in much of
northern Europe in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
for storing rents and
tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...
s. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the
established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the village church or rectory, and independent farmers took their tithes there. The village priests did not have to pay tithes—the purpose of the tithe being their support. Some operated their own farms anyway. The former church property has sometimes been converted to
village greens.
Many were monastic barns, originally used by the monastery itself or by a
monastic grange
Monastic granges were outlying landholdings held by monasteries independent of the manorial system. The first granges were owned by the Cistercians and other orders followed. Wealthy monastic houses had many granges, most of which were largel ...
. The word 'grange' is (indirectly) derived from Latin ('
granary'). Identical barns were found on royal domains and country estates.
The medieval
aisled barn was developed in the 12th and 13th centuries, following the examples of royal
hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...
s, hospitals and market halls. Its predecessors included Roman
horrea and
Neolithic long houses.
According to
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, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
, "exactly how barns in general were used in the Middle Ages is less well understood than might be expected, and the subject abounds with myths (for example, not one of England's surviving architecturally impressive barns was a tithe barn, although such barns existed)".
Examples
England
Medieval
There are surviving examples of medieval barns in England, some of them known as "tithe barns". English Heritage established criteria to determine if barns were used as tithe barns.
[The Great Coxwell "Tithe Barn" was not really a tithe barn, according to English Heritage.] The total number of surviving medieval barns (dated up to 1550) in Britain may be estimated about 200.
* Aberford C of E
Primary School
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
,
Aberford,
Leeds
Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
(Aberford School was based on a
redundant tithe barn)
*
Bank Hall Barn,
Bretherton,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
*
The Bishop's Barn, Wells, Somerset
* Bishop's Cleeve Tithe Barn,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
*
Bradford on Avon Tithe Barn,
Wiltshire
*
Carlisle Tithe Barn
*
Church of the Holy Ghost,
Midsomer Norton,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
* The Corbett Theatre,
Loughton, which was the tithe barn at
Ditchling
*
Cressing Temple
*
East Riddlesden Hall (
National Trust)
*
The Great Barn
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
,
Bourn
*
The Great Barn
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
,
Ruislip,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...
*
The Great Barn
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
,
Titchfield
*
The Great Barn
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
,
Wanborough,
Surrey
*
Great Coxwell Tithe Barn
Great Coxwell Barn is a Medieval tithe barn at Great Coxwell, Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire), England. It is on the northern edge of the village of Great Coxwell, which is about northeast of Swindon in neighbouring Wiltshire.
The barn was ...
,
Oxfordshire[
* Harmondsworth Great Barn, Harmondsworth, ]Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...
* Landbeach Tithe Barn
Landbeach is a small fen-edge English village about three miles (5 km) north of Cambridge. The parish covers an area of .
History
The fen edge north of Cambridge was well populated in Roman times, and the village's situation on a Roman road ...
, Landbeach, Cambridgeshire
* Middle Littleton
North and Middle Littleton is a civil parish located in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of North Littleton and Middle Littleton, and is located near the larger settlement of South Littleton. It ...
tithe barn
* Nether Poppleton Tithebarn, City of York
* Parish Hall and Rectory Chapel, Freshwater, Isle of Wight
* Sextry Barn, Ely
The Sextry Barn was a 13th-century tithe barn in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It was one of the largest medieval barns in Europe, and was demolished in 1842. It was used to store the corn tithes due to Ely Cathedral, and took its name from the s ...
* Swalcliffe
Swalcliffe is a village and civil parish about west of Banbury in Oxfordshire. The parish is about long north–south and about east–west. The 2011 Census recorded the population of the modern Swalcliffe parish as 210. The toponym "Swalc ...
Barn, Oxfordshire
* Tithe Barn, Dunster
* Tithe Barn, Maidstone, Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
* Tithe Barn, Manor Farm, Doulting, Somerset
* Tithe Barn, Pilton
The Tithe Barn at Cumhill Farm in Pilton, Somerset, England, was built in the 14th century as a tithe barn to hold produce for Glastonbury Abbey. It is a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The barn, of coursed and square ...
, Somerset
* Upminster Tithe Barn, Upminster, Essex
* Upper Heyford tithe barn, Oxfordshire
* Haddenham tithe barn, Buckinghamshire
* West Pennard Court Barn
West Pennard Court Barn (which is also known as the Court Barn, West Bradley) is a late 14th or early 15th century tithe barn which was built for Glastonbury Abbey. The Grade I listed building is between West Pennard and West Bradley in the ...
Later
There are many extant barns that date from after the Medieval period and may be called "tithe barns" by their owners or councils. These include:
* Loseley Park tithe barn (17th century)
* Melling Tithebarn, Merseyside (c. 18th century)
Scotland
* Barn Church, Culloden
The Barn Church is a parish church of the Church of Scotland at Culloden, in the Presbytery of Inverness. Although the congregation is relatively young, and only received full status as a parish church in its own right in the late 1980s, the ...
Germany
* Castle of Lissingen, Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
France
*Grange dimière, Tremblay-en-France
*Grange de Meslay
*Priory of Le Mont Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
(Ardevon).
*Silve Bénite in Le Pin (12th century).
* Écouen (14th–17th century).
* Ardenne Abbey in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe (12th century).
* Samoreau (13th century).
*Maubuisson Abbey
Maubuisson Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubuisson or ) is a Cistercian nunnery at Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, in the Val-d'Oise department of France. It was founded in A.D. 1236 by Blanche of Castile, Queen of France, who may have been buried there in 1 ...
(13th century).
* Tremblay-en-France (13th century).
*Wissous
Wissous () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune.
Population
Inhabitants of Wissous are known as ''Wissoussiens''.
History
Wissous appears ...
(13th century).
* Chenu (13th century).
*Dammarie-en-Puisaye
Dammarie-en-Puisaye () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye.
See also
*Communes of the Loiret department
The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of Fr ...
.
*Maroilles Abbey
Maroilles Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maroilles) was a Benedictine monastery in Maroilles in the department of Nord, France. It was founded around 650 and suppressed in the French Revolution.
History
The abbey was founded by Count Chonebert (or R ...
(1735).
* Wallers.
Belgium
*13th-century tithe barn of Ter Doest Abbey
* Herkenrode Abbey near Hasselt
See also
* Bishop's storehouse
* Staddle stones: Function
* Tithe map
* Tithing buildings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all or mostly in the United States
Notes and references
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Photographs of tithe barns
on geograph.org.uk
{{Authority control
Barns
Lists of buildings and structures in England