Description

The monument consists of a tithe barn, a large barn used to store the tithe (a tenth part of the annual produce of agriculture) which was paid by the tenants of ecclesiastical lands, dating to the medieval or post-medieval period. The barn is located immediately to the N of the main buildings of Llantarnam Abbey, which largely date to the 19th century. The barn is rectangular in plan and measures 37m NW/SE by 8m, is roofless but stands to its full height of 6m at the gable ends. It is built from roughly coursed stone, with dressed stone at the corners and around the windows and doorways. The W gable wall has six widely splayed slit windows, three large lower ones and three smaller upper ones, and the three lower ones have wooden lintels still in place on the inside. The E gable wall has an arched entrance placed slightly off-centre (a later addition), and four slit windows with wooden lintels on the inside. The N wall stands to a height of 3.5m and has a 3.5m wide, centrally positioned, opening and five slit windows either side of the opening. The wall to the E of the entrance has been supported by arched, stone-built buttresses. The S wall also stands to a height of 3.5m with a centrally positioned opening matching that on the N side. There are five slit window either side of the opening, three of which have been blocked on the E side. A shed has been built up against the outer side of the wall on the E side of the entrance. The barn is thought to be 13th century in date and is now thought to be a threshing barn rather than a tithe barn.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval or post-medieval agricultural and subsistence organisation. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.

Source: Cadw