Barn at Church Farm, Besford, Worcestershire. Historic Building Recording (OASIS ID: cotswold2-292825)

In April 2015 Cotswold Archaeology was commissioned by Mrs J. Cadbury to carry out a programme of Historic Building Recording of the barn at Church Farm, Besford, in mitigation of proposals to refurbish the building and convert into a studio. The barn is Listed Grade II and is ancillary to a Grade II listed farmhouse and an associated crinkle-crankle garden wall. A record to Historic England's Level 2 was required. Sketches by the architect of the conversion were not adequate for the record required and a new set of measured drawings were prepared. This provided, along with a photographic survey, a record of the building before conversion and the basis for the analysis of the building. The analysis supported a 17th-century date for the barn's original construction and that the barn (in fact, very probably a stable when first built) was a typical example of the west midlands timber-framing tradition. It has undergone at least two major phases of alteration: the first perhaps in the 18th or 19th century, and the second in the 20th century. Many other minor alterations were also noted.