In the Middle Ages, Stowmarket was a manor belonging to St. Osyth’s Priory. The Abbot built this barn in the thirteenth century to house local tithes.
It is a typical aisled, timber barn with clapboard cladding and a clay tile roof with a brick plinth. The aisle posts are jointed into timber wall ties at the base, which are in turn supported by brick plinths. The timbers are quite waney showing that the builders used the minimum size timber suitable for each part.
The barn has a good display of the tools and tasks for the farming year. It also houses mobility carts to assist people round the museum site.
