Middle Littleton Tithe Barn

Middle Littleton Tythe Barn NT 06.09.11

Middle Littleton Tythe Barn, also known as Middle Littleton Tithe Barn, is a grade I listed 12th or 13th-century tithe barn in the village of Middle Littleton, near Evesham in Worcestershire. It is one of the largest and most notable tithe barns in England. The barn is constructed of a mixture of Blue Lias and Cotswold stones, with a stone tile roof. It was originally built for Evesham Abbey, which was the third largest abbey in England. There is some uncertainty about when the barn was built. The National Trust describes it as 13th-century, whereas English Heritage describe in as 14th-century[1][2] The discrepancy may be the result of a radiocarbon date of around 1250 conflicting with evidence that the barn was built in 1376 by Abbot John Ombersley of Evesham Abbey.
The barn was built to hold tithes collected for Evesham Abbey, which was the third largest abbey in England before the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The size of the barn is an indication of the importance of the abbey at this time. It is now owned and operated by the National Trust.

Ringing (outside) at Middle Littleton, Worcs

A short clip of ringing from Middle Littleton, Worcestershire on 28th January 2012.

The Fleece Inn National Trust 06.09.11

The Fleece Inn is a public house in Bretforton, in the Vale of Evesham, Worcestershire, the half-timbered building, over six hundred years old, has been a pub since 1848, and is now owned by the National Trust. The inn was extensively damaged by fire on 27 February 2004, and after repairs and rebuilding were completed the Fleece officially reopened on 18 June 2005. The Fleece Inn was originally built in the early 15th century as a longhouse (an early type of farmhouse accommodating both livestock and humans) by a prosperous yeoman farmer called Byrd. It later became a pub, which was rebuilt in the 17th century and remained in the Byrd family until 1977, when Lola Taplin bequeathed it to the National Trust. Lola was a direct descendant of Mr Byrd, and lived her entire life at the Fleece. She died at 77, having run the pub on her own for the last 30 years of her life. The Inn suffered serious fire damage after a fire broke out in the thatch in February 2004, and the business temporarily moved to a nearby barn during the 14 month long restoration.
Reputedly Oliver Cromwell’s pewter dinner service was exchanged on the way to the battle of Worcester and this is on display at the pub. Even if this account is not true, it is an example of 17th century Jacobean English Pewter ware. The pub holds an annual asparagus festival asparagus and auction while there are three morris sides based at the pub: Pebworth, Belle d'Vain and Asum Gras.

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings 07.09.11

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings is an open-air museum of rescued buildings which have been relocated to its site in Stoke Heath, a district of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. Founded in 1963 and opened in 1967, the museum was conceived following the dismantling of a 15th-century timber-framed house in Bromsgrove in 1962 to provide a location for its reconstruction. It became England's first open-air museum and the second in the United Kingdom. It now houses a collection of domestic, industrial, agricultural and other forms of historic building, the majority dismantled and re-erected.
The museum's collection comprises more than 27 buildings and structures which have been relocated from their original sites under threat of demolition, being rebuilt and restored at the museum. This includes a fully functioning windmill and a post WW2 prefab house as used in many towns and cities after the Second World War to provide quick affordable replacements for houses destroyed by bombing. The Arcon V prefabricated house was originally constructed on Moat Lane in Yardley, Birmingham and was transported to the museum in 1981.