A Later Tudor Joggle-Head King-Post Roof in The Abbey Barn at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire

Abstract

Joggle-head king-post roofs from the mid Tudor period are not well known, but at Lacock there are four of them. This paper examines the constructional details of this form of roof and the benefits they provided in transferring compression laterally and maximising usable loft space. It focuses on one roof, that over the Abbey Barn, recently tree-ring dated to 1575-80. That such an expensive type of roof should be present over a utilitarian building, a stable block, has attracted some comment but no explanation has hitherto been forthcoming. Close examination of the roof suggested it had been re-used and a sketch of the abbey buildings made in 1684 suggests that it might have belonged to the now lost west range of Lacock Abbey.