Site Event/Activity record ECH6352 - Level 2 Historic Building Recording of The Ash Barn, Woodhouse Lane, Audlem.

Historic Building recording of a 19th century barn prior to residential conversion. The building is a long narrow barn with a hayloft on the upper floor and a series of storage rooms on the ground floor. It is constructed from redbrick bonded by mortar that originally had its southern portion open with four piers also constructed of brick, supporting a dual pitched ‘nibbed’ tile roof. The roof is supported by pine roof trusses and pine purlins which sit directly upon a double skinned brick wall. The northern portion of the building exhibits uniform patterned brickwork with analogous brick types and a regular mortar; however there is some evidence of rebuilding work particularly on the eastern elevation. There was a later phase of “bricking-up” that took place in the southern portion of the building as evidenced by some poor joint work within the piers. Furthermore entirely different light-orange brick types and a rough lime mortar with stony inclusions have been used to build up this second phase of walling on three elevations (East, West & South). There is also the suggestion of a low wall having been present between the piers (directly below the light orange bricks); this is demonstrated by a course of header bricks or ‘bricks-on-end coping’ visible in the fabric of the building on the same three exterior elevations. There are ventilation slots situated around the top of the building and these are a common feature of haylofts; it must be noted that brick damage and ‘blown out’ mortar is more prevalent around these slots than elsewhere on the building. The interior of the building is much altered on the ground floor with white painted walls and a cast concrete floor in the northern room; although in the southern room there is the remnant of some metalwork and a feed basket that may allude to a previous use as a byre. The barn is absent from the 1844 Tithe Map for Buerton, but is depicted on the 1st Edition 1:2500 Ordnance Survey of 1875, and therefore dates to sometime around the middle of the 19th century. The barn is of local importance as it is a well preserved example of mid-19th century half pier barn with a hayloft and was therefore preserved via record prior to the commencement of renovation and alteration.