Mid 19th century timber framed barn, Park Hall Farm, Gosfield (EHER 80306)

A mid 19th century eight-bay barn used for grain processing, with late 20th century weatherboarding and lower midstrey doors. The roof is clad with grey slates and has a motor house for the grain elevators. The barn is split into four Eastern bays, a midstrey with porch and three Western bays.

February 2018. Heritage assessment. A mid 19th century eight-bay barn used for grain processing, built in 1858 under the ownership of Samuel Courtauld. There is late 20th century weatherboarding and lower midstrey doors. It is built on a red brick plinth which as been encased in concrete. The roof is clad with grey slates and has a motor house for the grain elevators, and there is a lorry entrance in the Northern elevation to facilitate the dumping of grain into the hopper. The Southern elevation has the porch for the midstrey but it is hard to see how it could have been used for conventional thrashing and winnowing as the surrounding buildings would have ruined the through draft. It is more likely there was barn engine or a horse drawn gin to run the machinery. Internally, the floor of the Barn is occupied by a hollow concrete floor designed to channel grain to and from grain bins and silos. The barn is split into four Eastern bays, a midstrey with porch and three Western bays. The end elevations mirror each other but each has been disrupted for modern openings to install the grain drying and storage machinery. On the western wall are the steel power boxes that controlled the operation of the augers, pre-dresser and elevators and were likely installed during the 1960s to 1980s and probably became redundant in the 1990s. <1>