Tithe Barn

The original tithe barn was probably on the site of the parsonage farm which may have been on the site of the Old Vicarage or school but the building on the left was known as the tithe barn before it was convertd to a house.Hampshire archive record 19M61/4113 is a number of bills submitted by builders for the construction of a barn in 1802. One possibility is it was what is now the Tythe Barn in the East End of Chewton Mendip which is on the junction between East End Cottages and Lower East End Farmhouse and Hippisley Farm and is directly opposite East End Farm.

The date is consistent with the estimated date of construction and it fits with a legal dispute between Waldegraves and the Hippisleys about the payment of tithes. It is not shown in the 1794 map but it is clearly seen in the 1902 map.

However, there are a number of arguments against this being the barn built in 1802. It may have been the barn held by George Roberts in 1785 and one of the bills is for  14,000 bricks a hundred tiles for ‘Shutars Bottom’ raised by Isaac James which would appear to rule out this building being the barn built in 1802. However, that bill is undated and is part of a bundle that may not be linked by anything more significant than they were presented to William Miles who was acting for the Kingsmills.

One bill also undated but specifying Robert Kingsmill is for smiths work by Richard Clark.

There is a receipt dated 1802 from William Spears for thatching a barn at ‘mendip’ dated 1802 and the original barn shown above may have been thatched.

There is a bill from James  Pearce  dated 27th June 1803 so the bills cannot all apply to the same building. A Bills presented by James Selway and Valintine Dudden in 1802 look the most likely to have been for the barns shown above.

Another possibility is that the barn built in 1802 was the large barn in East End farm shown on the right. A barn is shown in East End Farm in the 1794 map but it appears to be facing the wrong way and possibly in the wrong place. It is possible that the long building shown in the modern Hippisley farm was the building shown on the right. This may be considered the rear view, looking away from East End Farm. The extension that can be seen looks as if it was added later.