Coggeshall

In the same town as Paycocke's House is a 1200s Grange Barn that belonged to a Cistercian Abbey to process and store the grain they raised on their grange (large farm). The local people were supposed to pay their tithes to the church, and they often paid with a tenth of their crops. This was a threshing barn, where the grain was threshed by hand, using the wind from the open doors to blow away the chaff. Over the centuries, it has been modified many times to suit the needs of the owners. For example, it was originally built with wattle and daub between the timbers, but that was replaced with brick

In the 1980s it was falling down, and because it is the oldest timber framed buildings in Europe, the National Trust took it over to restore and preserve it. It is a great event space!

Also on the grounds is a display of the over 300 woodcarver's tools that belonged to Bryan Saunders, local craftsman of the early 1900s. He did many carvings, for churches and other buildings around town, as well as restorative work.Read more