Gawthorpe's Great Barn Restoration

The project will transform the future of the Great Barn at Gawthorpe Hall, Paddiham, by restoring the roof, ensuring safe public access to this Grade 1 listed building and allowing a full range of uses by local communities and audiences.

Built in 1603-05 and described as “one of the finest aisled barns in the North-West, its unusual shape and size makes it of national significance. An archive documents its construction, including details of every individual craftsman involved.

The barn was re-roofed in the 1980’s but unfortunately the work proved sub-standard. Running repairs kept the barn in use until 2008, when it had to close to wider public access. Subsequent patch repairs enabled short-term sporadic use with the last use in 2022. The historic roof structure now requires propping with temporary scaffolding.

The project will see complete re-roofing and associated works, enabling the historic features to be enjoyed once more, restoring the barn to use as a multipurpose space and adding another chapter to its historic role in Gawthorpe’s story.

Gawthorpe is surrounded by a population suffering severe social and economic deprivation and we have consulted widely on potential future use. The barn will offer a unique space for local people to develop skills, volunteering and learning as well as providing a dramatic venue for a range of community activities.

The work will help showcase traditional skills such as stonemasonry, and we will work with the local building community to develop skills, knowledge and experience, e.g. using local sourced stone hand-finished by local stonemasons using traditional methods.

Work will take place during winter 2025/26 to protect an important bat roost and will include scaffolding, re-laying the roof (reinstating existing slates wherever possible and incorporating bat-flaps, plus specialist timber, rainwater and masonry works to repair or replace original materials).