ENN111081 - The Old Tithe Barn, 2023 (Building recording)

In May 2023 a Historic Building Record was made of a late medieval/early post-medieval tithe barn and adjoining outbuilding range in the village of Thurning, Northamptonshire. The buildings stand within the curtilage of The Old Rectory (a Grade II Listed Building). The recording was carried out prior to conversion of the buildings to domestic accommodation. The record combines an analytical study of the tithe barn’s structural characteristics with research of its early modern history. The correlation of results not only allows a greater appreciation of the building’s present condition, but sheds light on important, yet forgotten, chapters of its evolution and historic significance. The tithe barn has been varyingly reported to have originated in the 16th century or the 17th century, while the rectory was adapted in the 17th century from a late 15th century farmhouse. In is context, and on account of physical attributes, it is likely that the tithe barn originated as a threshing barn. In the Victorian period it was known that the tithe barn was once central to the village’s annual celebration of the Feast of St James. The custom was revived by the rector Rev. E. Tottenham in the 1890s, with the tithe barn a key venue for the occasion. In 1933, however, the barn was devastated by fire, with partial loss of the structure. Rebuilt and greatly modified a few years later, the barn continued to play an important role in the local community’s festivities. In the late 20th century the barn underwent a fresh overhaul and was converted to a tea-room. The former tithe barn may be viewed as a significant asset in the narrative of the local community’s customary celebration of the Feast of St. James. The report provides a descriptive and illustrative account of observations, by means of digital photographs and scale drawings, aided by a provisional phase plan.