More information : On the west edge of Roudsea Wood at SD 3302 8167 are the upstanding remains of a barn, which were planned and recorded by RCHME archaeological field investigators in January 1995 as part of the RCHME's Iron Industry and Related Woodland Industries of Furness Project. The barn was probably used to store wood products: charcoal, bark or possibly coppice wood.
The rectangular, stone-built barn is open-fronted on the NE side, except for a length of wall 0.5m long at either end. The barn has no windows, the only openings being below-floor ventilators measuring 0.6m high and 0.05m wide externally. There are 6 of these in the W wall, 1 between each of the 5 dwarf walls, spanning the width of the barn, which would have supported a raised floor. The roof was gabled and was covered by slates attached by metal pins. (1)
A detailed survey of the barn was carried out by RCHME architectural field investigators in January 1999, also as part of the Furness Project. Although this showed that it had definitely been built as a bark barn, OS map evidence (2a-b) suggests it was in use by 1846 until at least 1889 as a powder magazine associated with the nearby Lowwood Gunpowder Works (SD 38 SW 26). See plan and report in the NMR for full details of the survey. (2)
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