ABSTRACT
The medieval barn is by far the most impressive agricultural building to survive from that period. A good deal of history remains hidden in and around these structures, though until now, students of technology and history have usually left the the study of barns to archaeologists and architectural historians. Walter Horn and Ernest Born’s publication of the Beaulieu Abbey barn at Great Coxwell, Oxfordshire, shows the magnificence that these buildings can achieve. The barn was only a temporary storage point for the crops. It provided a large enclosed space in which the harvest could complete its drying process. The crops were bundled into sheaves as they were being harvested, which were then made into heaps within the barn. The picture which these figures describe indicates the careful management of the monies accruing to the college from Swalcliffe. While the barn was being built, the only other construction work being done was at Shutford presbytery.
