NHER 30804 (Building record) - Late 13th-century barn at Hall Farm

Said to be Norfolk's oldest known timber framed building, about AD 1300.
See (S1).
D. Gurney (NLA), 4 April 2005.

December 1987. Listed, Grade I.
Early 14th century aisled barn, 18th century brick walls added; some flint. Thatched. Two symmetrical cart doors to north with eyebrows over. Slit ventilators. Four stepped buttresses. Roof altered from gable to half hipped. South doors now blocked. Some 18th century brick piers throughout. On interior, brickwork changes from Flemish to English.
Eight bays, with seven pairs square section aisle posts on timber sole spurs from base of wallposts. Many now replaced in brick and wallposts removed in 18th century. Curved braces from both sides of aisle posts to arcade plate or to tiebeams. From aisle posts further spurs to wallplate of outer members. Curved passing braces rise from wallposts, trenched through wallplate spur, through aisle posts and tenon into underside of tiebeams. From latter queen struts rise to lower of two tiers butt purlins. No principal rafters or windbraces. Farmhouse demolished.
Information from (S2).
E. Rose (NLA), 15 August 1994.

However (S3) from Vernacular Architecture Group summer visit to Norfolk 1997 states roof is 20th century and comments on irregularity in the timbering.
E. Rose (NLA), 2 July 1997.

March 2012. Dendrochronology.
Tree-ring analysis of 23 samples obtained from different timbers.
Twelve of the samples produced a single site chronology with an overall length of 126 rings, dated as spanning the years AD 1158-1283. Interpretation of the sapwood on the dated samples indicates that these timbers were all probably cut as part of a single act of felling in AD 1283 (with construction of the barn presumably occurring shortly afterwards). The remaining samples are all ungrouped and undated.
See reports (S4) and (S5).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 10 November 2016.

December 2016
Storm damaged gable-end was given consent to undertake repairs. These are underway.
S, Heywood (HES). 3 April 2017.