17th to 18th century timber-framed threshing barns at Beaumont Otes, Chignall St. James (EHER 80773)

Two 17th to 18th century timber-framed threshing barns.

February 2020. Level 3 building survey. Beaumont Otes is legible from Woodhall Hill as a historic farmstead in a derelict condition. The site of the existing open yard was the site of the farmhouse in the late 16th century. Building 8 is a timber-framed threshing barn on a brick plinth. It has a low-pitched roof, which is not original to the building, and a midstrey serving the central threshing bay. A later ‘cornhole’ (a small lean-to) has been added between the midstrey and the barn and the barn. An opposing cart opening survives on the rear elevation. Cladding, doors, and roof coverings on the building are modern. Missing cladding on the southern elevation presumably relates to the presence of a since demolished structure between Buildings 8 and 9 that was extant into the 21st century and can be seen on the 1960 aerial photograph. The plinth incorporates a mix of brickwork, although large areas have been rendered. Some of the exposed brickwork is modern while other areas are of probable late 17th or early 18th century date. The threshing floor does not survive and the existing dirt floor appears to have been excavated below the original floor level. The most likely scenario is that this a 17th or early 18th century barn constructed reusing some timbers from the late medieval to post-medieval barns shown on the 1599 plan. In particular, the sizable tie beams and arch-braces are likely candidates for having been reused from an earlier structure. Unfortunately, the historic roof form of the barn has been lost. Indeed, the existing roof has been wholly rebuilt on a shallow pitch some point in the 20th century. This structure reuses a good degree of hand-cut rafters alongside various machine-cut replacements and a plank ridge. Large parts of the timber frame have also been rebuilt, presumably at the same time. Building 9 is a notably large threshing barn with two midstreys. The presence of two threshing barns (i.e. this large barn and Building 8) is not uncommon in medium and larger farmsteads in arable parts of the east of England, where typically they allowed wheat and barley to be threshed and stored separately. The northern of the opposing cart entries on the rear elevation remains open, while the upper part of the southern has been infilled. Like Building 8, its roof has been rebuilt on a shallow pitch, accommodating slate coverings, with a later corrugated metal-clad projection set at ridge level behind the northern midstrey. Otherwise the exterior has modern weather-boarding, with some areas of corrugated metal cladding. A broad date in the 18th century would seem fair for this building, although the plinth incorporates brickwork of a variety of dates. Most notably, there is an attractive diaper pattern on the southern elevation. Open-fronted, lean-to structures against the eastern elevation are shelter sheds related to the later cattle use of the site. These have modern, machine-cut timber roofs, in some cases reusing hand-cut timbers as ties. Like the smaller threshing barn (Building 8), the roof of Building 9 has been wholly replaced in the 20th century. The reuse of historic timbers in the roof structure of Building 9 is far more modest than on Building 8 and, notably, the tie beams are modern. Much of the frame has also been replaced, including several of the principal, unjowled posts and sole plates. As with Building 8, only a dirt floor remains in this large barn. <1>