190 CERNK ABBEY BARN. 



seen. It consists of three kinds of stone. First there is Oiilite, of 

 the Portland formation ; but doubtless from some nearer locality, 

 Portesham or Sutton Poyntz, perhaps. Then there is a consider- 

 able amount of Ham-hill sandstone, of which the buttresses, for 

 instance, are mainly built. Lastly, there is a quantity of black 

 flint, of which probably the whole core of the walls is formed, as 

 well as a great part of the facing. Thus in the charm of varied 

 colour the masonry is very delightful. But the feature to which I 

 would chiefly draw your attention is the wonderful squaring and 

 facing of the surface flints, in their thousands. It may be doubted 

 whether Sussex,* Norfolk, or any other county noted for flint 

 masonry, could show anything to beat that of Cerne Abbas Barn, 

 taking quality and quantity into account. I found that a square 

 foot of facing contains 25 flints, more or less. I estimated that 

 half of the vast wall space inside, and two-thirds outside, are so 

 faced. With these data, and the dimensions as above given, the 

 astonishing result comes out that 172,600 is the number of facing 

 flints in Cerne Abbas Barn. And the even, firm surface which 

 they present must be seen to be believed. Outside, the flints have, 

 of course, weathered as regards colour. But within they are still 

 very black. In places, as in the West porch, the flint, oolite, and 

 sandstone, with their black, light grey, and orange, are interspersed, 

 forming a delightful chord of colour. 



Such is a slight sketch of Cerne Abbas Barn. I have been so 

 often asked respecting this and Abbotsbury Barn "What were 

 they originally 1 were they churches ? " that I ought, perhaps, 

 to say in a word that it may be taken as an absolute 

 certainty that they and all similar monastic buildings were 

 barns, and nothing but barns, in design and use. But what kind 

 of barns? Tithe barns is the received answer. I doubt it. 

 Buildings in the middle ages were vastly better than now, but roads 

 much worse. Now, remembering that, think of what Mr. Roberts 

 implies by calling this barn a Tithe Barn, as he does in the British 



* It may be noted that flint dressing for masonry was a lost art in 

 Norfolk 200 years ago. See Evelyn's Diary, October 17, 1071. 



