REPORT

The Kentish barn:  the functional heart of the farm.

The persistent cold and miserable weather did not deter thirty members and friends of the Lynsted with Kingsdown Society from attending a fascinating illustrated talk about Kentish barns on 15th March. Ray Harrison, a Faversham-based conservation architect, shared his enthusiasm and great knowledge of his subject as he took his audience through the history and function of the rural barn.

We learned that the barn, being a place where grain was threshed from the harvested cereals or pulses, and stored away, was a ‘prestige’ building. It was erected close to the farmhouse to proclaim the farmer’s wealth. Ray explained that the barn was an early, and very functional, structure in the evolution of farm buildings. Often there was a stock enclosure attached, so that over-wintered beasts could be conveniently fed from the stored crops.  The dung would be spread on the fields, providing nutrients for the following crop, and completing a never-ending cycle.  

All barns have the same basic structure: pairs of  large doors opposite each other, with storage bays on each side.  The through-draft aided the ‘winnowing’ of grain from straw as the sheaves were threshed on the threshing floor. A ‘threshhold’ of planks would keep the grain in place prior to bagging.

Ray illustrated the development of the barn, from a timber-framed, often aisled, building with a thatched roof, through wooden walled, slab-sided structures coated with tar, to brick walled barns with gable ends and tiled roofs. Along the way, modifications were often made to allow access for animal- and then steam-driven threshing machines.

Sadly, but inevitably, barns are going out of use, and those that are modified for residential or office use have their original structural features hidden by floors and partitions.

Ray’s detailed answering of questions (mainly from occupiers of barn conversions!) rounded off a very enjoyable and informative evening.

Bob Baxter.