Monument record MDR5151 - Cruck Barn (site of), Woodthorpe Hall, Ashover Road, Clay Cross

The most interesting part of the Woodthorpe Hall property, namely one of the few perfect Tithe Barns in the country, standing in the old Quaker Burial Ground (SMR 4206), was unfortunately demolished 'some 20 years ago' [ie early to mid 20th century]. This was thatched, as was the house, and only pegs were used in the construction - there were no nails at all. The oak beams stretched from the roof to the ground. (1, 2) A cruck barn with four cruck frames, tie beams and collars. Demolished 1949. (3) The barn stood in front of Woodthorpe Hall and had been in very poor condition for many years prior to its demolition in 1949. It contained four cruck frames forming a building three bays in length. The lower part of the walls was built either of stones or of bricks, all of which were small. The upper part was either bricks or boards. No nails were used in its construction, the beams and laths being fastened by wooden pegs. The heavy double doors were similarly pegged and hinged. The roof had been thatched but by 1946 most of the thatch had disappeared. The floor was said to have been paved with 18th century gravestones from the Quaker burial ground at Tupton but when the barn was visited in the late 1940s some of the floor space was taken up by pig sties and the remainder was one or two feet deep in bedding. The barn was believed to be of 17th century date. (4)