MDE20311 - 18th Century barn and shippon at Barton Town Farm (Building)

Barn 18th Century... Rubble stone with some brick dressings and cob. Scantle slate roofs with clay ridge tiles hipped to left end, gable ended to right. Barn is lofted over at right end and barn has double plank doors with timber lintel. Small plank door to right with loft opening above. Lean-to to rear of barn with corrugated iron roof. [1] The building was not assessed during the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. [2] The barn is built of rubble and cob, with a half hipped roof, and probably dates from the 18th Century. It may be slightly later in date than the cottage, inferred by the use of iron pins in the carpentry joints of the barn roof, as opposed to the wooden pegs used in the cottage roof. It has opposed doorways indicating that it was probably used for hand threshing and winnowing. It has a wide cart entrance on the north wall and a smaller doorway to the south. There is an internal shippon at the western end, segregated f, which allowed carts to enter the barn and unload directly onto the hayloft. The shippon also had a floor of brick, rubble and stone slabs, laid on a slope to allow drainage into a channel set across the width of the building and draining towards the yard door. A mid to late 20th Century animal shelter adjoins the barn's south wall. The barn and shippon are of modest size and suggest a small acreage of the farm, which was probably engaged in typical mixed farming with some cereal production (including corn) and livestock rearing (probably cattle, sheep and pigs). The barn retains remnants of an internal plaster finish, probably in an attempt to keep rodents out. [3] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [4] The building was assessed as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor’s Listed Buildings 2018-19. It received a BAR score of 6. [5]