A tithe barn was a type of
barn used in much of
northern Europe in the
Middle Ages for storing rents and
tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the
established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the village church or rectory, and independent farmers took their tithes there. The village priests did not have to pay tithes—the purpose of the tithe being their support. Some operated their own farms anyway. The former church property has sometimes been converted to
village greens.
Many were monastic barns, originally used by the monastery itself or by a
monastic grange. The word 'grange' is (indirectly) derived from Latin granarium ('
granary'). Identical barns were found on royal domains and country estates.
The medieval
aisled barn was developed in the 12th and 13th centuries, following the examples of royal
halls, hospitals and market halls. Its predecessors included Roman
horrea and
Neolithic long houses.
According to
English Heritage, "exactly how barns in general were used in the Middle Ages is less well understood than might be expected, and the subject abounds with myths (for example, not one of England's surviving architecturally impressive barns was a tithe barn, although such barns existed)".[1]
Examples
England
Medieval
There are surviving examples of medieval barns in England, some of them known as "tithe barns". English Heritage established criteria to determine if barns were used as tithe barns.[2] The total number of surviving medieval barns (dated up to 1550) in Britain may be estimated about 200.[3]
Emery, Anthony (1996). Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300-1500. Vol. 1, Northern England. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN978-0521497237.
Emmons, James BT (2015). Artifacts from Medieval Europe (1st ed.). Greenwood.
Horn, Walter (1958). "On the Origins of the Medieval Bay System". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 17 (2): 2–23.
doi:
10.2307/987918.
JSTOR987918.
Horn, Walter; Born, Ernest (1965). The Barns of the Abbey of Beaulieu at its Granges of Great Coxwell and Beaulieu-St.-Leonards. University of California Press.
ISBN978-0520005723.
Hughes, Graham (1985). Barns of Rural Britain. London: Herbert Press Ltd.
ISBN978-0906969366.
Morant, Roland W. (2004). The Medieval Abbeys of England and Wales: A Resource Guide. Victoria, BC: Trafford Publishing. pp. 502–511.
ISBN978-1412026048.
Sloane, Eric (1967). An Age of Barns: An Illustrated Review of Classic Barn Styles and Construction (2005 – 4th ed.). Voyageur Press.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tithe barns.