Rackley’s Barn

Three parts to the project

There were three main parts to the project – firstly; a new oak frame underneath the existing roof of the main barn, in place of the existing masonry walls, secondly; new oak extensions on all four sides of the existing main barn, and thirdly; structural green oak screens to receive the specialist glazing in both the main barn and the other auxiliary buildings.

Carpenter Oak worked closely with the architect and contractors to devise a clear plan as to how the first and second parts would be achieved, especially as the main barn was already covered in scaffolding. The team had to work out how to thread our new oak beams through a maze of scaffolding and the existing oak structure.

The third part was also an interesting challenge which involved structural green oak screens to receive the specialist glazing in both the main barn and the other auxiliary buildings of the wedding complex.

A combination of materials

Carpenter Oak frames are usually built using green oak, as they mostly were for this project, but with a particular set of needs Rackley’s barn also required some other materials. Some dry oak was used for the complex connections, such as the ‘applied jowls’ which connected our posts to the existing tie beams. There were also plinths at the base of our posts which were a combination of steelwork covered by brickwork and dry oak. And a combination of dry and green oak was used for the specialist glazing by Topworks.

Unusual but smooth build

As well as having to devise creative methods for threading our new elements into the existing building, there were other unfamiliar aspects to the build, such as using A-frame buttresses, which are very unusual features in timber frames. Despite all these challenges the work onsite went smoothly, and we were on site for around one year of phased works to build the various elements required.

Once all the other aspects of the build had been finalised, the owners could be satisfied that they had not only preserved an almost 300-year-old building, but that this was now a magnificent wedding venue to be enjoyed by hundreds of guests for years to come.

Nick Sargent of the Sargent Charitable Trust who owns the building:

“Everyone who visits, and particularly the bride and groom parties who marry there, love it. My favourite thing is to sit quietly with my wife on a summers evening enjoying all the craftsmanship new and old which went into the buildings.”

Photography: Rackley’s Barn and Leigh Simpson