Grade I-listed barn to get new roof in £1.2m plan

Originally built for agricultural storage, the 100ft (30m) long barn at Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham dates back to 1605

A £1.2m plan to re-roof a Grade I-listed barn at an Elizabethan country house has been revealed by the National Trust.

Originally built for agricultural storage, the 100ft (30m) long barn at Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham dates back to 1605.

The Trust said it is "of national importance as an historic building", as some elements of the roof date back to when it was first constructed.

The roof has received a number of temporary repairs over the years, but major works are now needed to secure the long-term future of the building.

Built in the Elizabethan era, Gawthorpe Hall was remodelled in the 1850s by noted architect Sir Charles Barry

The roof and timber rafters will be repaired using heritage craft skills in order to stop rainwater leaking through the structure

The Great Barn at Gawthorpe Hall has had multiple uses over its 420-year history, from a space for agricultural storage to an indoor training facility for Burnley Football Club.

The National Trust acquired the barn in 1980 and it was used to host exhibitions and events before closing to the public in 2008.

Securing its future will allow the space to reopen to visitors.

'Enhance experience'

The conservation project will also protect the resident colony of brown long-eared and pipistrel bats that breed and hibernate in the barn each year.

Kirsten Warren, the National Trust’s assistant director of operations for the north-west said: “The project can kickstart the development of a new long-term vision for the site.

"In the coming years, we want to enhance the experience that the visitors and the local community receive across Gawthorpe.”

Work will start if a planning application to Burnley Council is successful and funding is secured.