The Tudor Barn Chimneys

The chimneys of the Tudor Barn at Middleton Hall are an important visible remnant of the first stage of the construction of Middleton Hall on its current site. This construction phase began in about 1220, during the de Marmion period of ownership and shortly after their lands had been returned to them following the First Barons’ War.

This construction phase is very obvious at Middleton Hall because it used a very specific red sandstone to create sandstone plinth foundations. However, today, those surviving foundations are hidden in many areas of the Hall. The only ones that are visible today are those of the Tudor Barn as well as its chimneys.

The floor plan of the Tudor Barn reveals it to have been a longhouse and the ground floor footprint of it has changed little since its original construction. There were originally two large chimneys on the eastern side that were integral within the construction of the foundations. However, these were not chimneys as we understand them today. This was because flues did not exist in that era. Instead, the smoke vented out of apertures in the stonework. These apertures are visible in the surviving chimney today.

Tudor Barn chimney, 2017. Photograph taken by Debbie Jordan.

Another unusual construction aspect of these chimneys, unthinkable to modern construction techniques, was that the ground was not levelled at all. This is particularly noticeable because the land in the area of the Tudor Barn has a natural, very accentuated, slope. Furthermore, no mortar was used to set the sandstone blocks in place. It was commented that, in a way that would never be attempted today, the original stonemasons had cut and laid the sandstone blocks with such skill and care in order to accommodate these aspects. It is testament to their skill that over 800 years later they are still, in part, standing.

The longhouse was only single storey but, in 1604, the structure was renovated into the two storey version of the Tudor Barn visible today. The original foundations and the chimneys were retained in the renovation. However, it is believed that at this time the height of the two chimneys was increased, using a similar type of sandstone, in order for the fireplaces to service the rooms on the first floor. This sandstone, although being similar, is not believed to have been exactly the same type because it has weathered noticeably quicker. Decorative carving was added to the top but the exact form of the very top of the chimney at that time is uncertain because it was replaced with bricks in the 19th century. Double flues were also added, through the use of bricks, within both chimneys at this time.

Tudor Barn chimney, c.1900. Courtesy of Philip and William de Hamel.

In 1716, the Tudor Barn received its Georgian Renovation, which resulted in the chimneys being covered in lime plaster. Then, in the 1920s, the lime plaster was replaced with lime-ash plaster, which prevented the stone from being able to “breathe” and increased its decay.

By 1977, the brick tops of the chimneys had collapsed and the 17th century sandstone was severely crumbling. Consequently, for health and safety reasons, in 1983, Middleton Hall Trust were required to remove the top of the chimneys, taking them down to the height of the base of the roof. In the end, the southernmost chimney was reduced to a level so that it was completely within the adjacent farm building unit. Further severe deterioration meant that in February 2021 an urgent repair was carried out. The sandstone blocks that could not be saved were replaced with new sandstone, in order to ensure that the 13th century chimney would remain safe and protected for many years to come.

Repair of the Tudor Barn chimney, 2021. Photograph taken by Joanna Habart.

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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