| Description | The site lies on a projecting spur of land, an arrangement typical of Medieval sites in the region. Stank Hall Barn is a substantially complete Late Medieval timber framed aisled barn, which formed part of a large farm on the present site. Originally the structure comprised seven bays, but the southern most bay was replaced by a stone building during the middle of the 17th century.
It was built in the late 15th to early 16th century for the Beeston family, with the 17th century cross wing being for the Hodgson family. This cross wing is also known as Major Greathead’s Chapel. The barn is built from millstone grit and delph stone, with a timber frame and stone slate roofs. There are wide opposing barn doors to the eaves. The two storey cross wing is at the south end of the barn. It has four and two light recessed chamfered mullioned windows, hoodmoulds, rebuilt doorways on the west side, a central upper floor ogee arched doorway (blocked) on the south side, and a hoodmould with scrolled stops. This hoodmould has flanking two light mullioned windows, which have been restored (English Heritage, 1951).
The interior of the barn has oak aisle posts and king post roof trusses. Tree ring analysis gives a date of 1448 1490 for the felling of the trees used in the construction of the timber frame (Hillam and Groves, 1991). The building has been extensively studied (see WYAAS report Wrathmell and Weldrake, 1989).
Probable accompanying outbuildings have since been demolished, but Stank Hall (PRN 8338) and New Hall (PRN 8339), which formed the residential portion of the complex, are still standing. Although Listed Grade II, neither of these buildings is as yet scheduled; like the barn, both Stank Hall and New Hall have been considerably remodeled, probably in the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries.
In 1988 West Yorkshire Archaeology Service carried out structural recording and small scale excavation on behalf of English Heritage and the owners, Leeds City Council, during repairs to the late medieval barn. Investigations showed that the building had originally consisted of seven full bays, and end aisles (Gaimster et al. 1988, p.222)
Extensive earthworks around the existing buildings suggest that the Late Medieval layout contained gardens to the South and an agricultural enclosure to the North, of which the surviving barn formed a part. Additional possible building platforms lie to the South of the 'garden' platform; there is also evidence of adit coal mining in this southern area, both pre dating and post dating the system of ridge and furrow which surrounds the site. The ridge and furrow has not been dated. |