Tithe Barn

This is the Grade 1 listed Tithe Barn at Place Farm in Tisbury in Wiltshire. It is reputed to be the largest tithe barn in England.

Once part of the Abbess of Shaftesbury’s vast estate, this magnificent example of 13th century architecture is the longest barn in England at 200ft long. Now home to Messums Gallery and Arts Centre, a showcase of modern art and design. Messum’s was opened in 2016 after a two-year restoration and full re-thatch of the Tithe Barn and offers workshops, exhibitions, performances and a café.

The art is pretty much what you would expect, overpriced and easily forgettable, but the barn is definitely worth seeing.

A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes — one tenth of a farm's produce which was given to the Church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the village church or rectory and independent farmers took their tithes there.

Each bay section of the roof is unique and reflects the natural shapes of the trees used in its construction, making it a thing of great beauty.