Description: Tithe barns usually held the stores of grain or other agricultural produce paid to the church as a form of tax. A 'tithe' meant a tenth, and people usually gave the church one tenth of their produce. Many tithe barns such as this one survive around the country. They are often close to churches, and are sometimes distinctive by their large size. This one here was also used as a dovecote with holes in the end window to provide access for doves and pigeons (used as supplementary winter meat in the days before refrigeration when most cattle and sheep were slaughtered in the autumn)