A WALK around our local market produces interesting questions about the surrounding countryside and a recent one was: What is a tithe barn and are there any still in use?

To answer the second question first, lots of tithe barns are still in use, while not serving their original purpose.

Some are now tourist attractions in the care of the National Trust or perhaps some other caring owner, others are wedding venues or restaurants, several have been converted into holiday cottages, and I am sure a few will still be serving on agricultural land as working barns, but not tithe barns.

Although a genuine surviving tithe barn can date from the 14th century or even earlier (for example, the famous and very splendid example at Bradford on Avon), I suspect some have been built recently purely for the tourists, even rejoicing in the name of tythe barn. That’s rather like calling a fair fayre – ie it is artificially ancient.

Tithe barns are not purely British constructions. Similar ones can be found across northern Europe, while in this country, they seem to be spread widely around the shires.

However, the idea of tithes dates to a period long before the birth of Christ. There are references in the Old Testament that provide both a clue to their purpose and the reason for tithe barns.

Tithe barns were originally used for storage, and their contents were tithes. For centuries it had been customary, not merely in England, for the people to donate a tenth of their produce or earnings in support of the parish church and its priest.

Parishioners whose work involved the production of goods, including grain, fruit, vegetables and other items, needed somewhere to store their tithes away from their own premises – hence the tithe barn.

A tenth of a farmer’s produce would be stored in the tithe barn until required, and so would a tenth from all the other parishioners.

A tithe barn was, in effect, a gigantic public storeroom rewhose contents supported the parish priest and church.

To accommodate huge amounts and a variety of goods, tithe barns were essentially very large, and it is not surprising that some sported exquisite interiors, rather like the interior of a church.

Some even boasted naves and aisles, inside buttressed walls and spectacular roofs.

The system began in ancient times. The Old Testament (Gen.xiv.20) records in BC1913 that Abraham gave Melchizedek tithes of all his spoils after fighting five kings, and then in BC1491, the Jews were ordered to give a tenth of their goods to the service of the Lord.

When Christianity arrived, the early church declared that its priests should be able to live by the Gospel so Rome did not pass any laws compelling the faithful to pay tithes for the maintenance of priests. They hoped people would voluntarily support the clergy, but such anticipated goodwill was absent.

It became necessary for the Church to enforce the custom and this was done at the Council of Macon on October 23, AD585. This move does not appear to have been supported in England.

Despite these efforts, support from tithes was far from being a smooth operation, and in AD750, the Archbishop of York referred to tithes in his writings, emphasising that the people should give a tenth of their income for support of the church.

It seems the Vatican supported its English Archbishop’s efforts, but the practical difficulties of enforcement remained over the years.

By 1215, there was a more formal approach when the Vatican began to frame firm rules about the payment of tithes and this marked the end of the mainly voluntary system. Further complications arose when Henry VIII appointed himself Head of the Church in England.

In removing it from the Pope’s jurisdiction, he also changed the law on tithes.

In 1545, for example, one of his laws specified that every citizen of London should pay 2s. 9d. in every £1 (approximately 13.5p) as tithes on their rents, but from that time there were many changes to the whole system.

In 1789, tithes were abolished in France, but as recently as 1836, laws were passed in England by which commissioners were appointed to oversee the payment of tithes based on the average price over seven years of crops such as oats, barley and wheat.

Any such payment had to be made in cash and this marked the end of one aspect of the tithe system – hitherto, many tithes were paid in goods.

In England there were continuing changes to the tithe system during the reigns of William IV and Queen Victoria, and at one stage of the Church of England, the tithes of a parish determined the incumbent who received them.

There were small tithes and great tithes which determined whether an incumbent was a rector, vicar or perpetual curate.

Those old distinctions and the entire system of tithes in England disappeared through Tithe Act of 1936. Until then, tithes in the form of cash were still being paid in English Protestant parishes.

Those old tithe barns remind us of that ancient custom.

INFORMATION recently released by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has shown that many of our essentially rural birds took refuge in towns and cities during the worst of the recent winter.

The figures result from the Big Garden Birdwatch that took place over the final weekend of January this year.

The survey involved 280,000 gardens and it revealed that many of our smallest birds suffered terribly from the appalling conditions.

Small birds require a constant intake of suitable food if they are to survive a tough winter, and in the recent case, many could not find warmth, shelter or food.

The survey revealed a 75 per cent reduction in the number of goldcrests, a 27 per cent drop in sightings of longtailed tits and a reduction of 20 per cent of coal tit sightings.

There were also reductions in the sightings of robins, wrens, goldcrests, siskins, treecreepers and greenfinches.

However, the survey does reveal some good news.

It shows that birds can quickly adapt to prevailing conditions because several species appeared in suburban parks and gardens, especially in the warmer areas of Britain.

Two striking examples were redwings and fieldfares, both being winter visitors to these islands.

They arrive from Scandinavia to spend their winters here and that means they are most regularly seen along our eastern coastline.

During the recent winter, they were seen as far south and as far west as Cornwall, the Channel Isles and the Isles of Scilly.

Among the others sighted in urban surrounds were yellow-hammers, bullfinches, song thrushes and mistle thrushes.

The problem for these birds in rural situations was that the landscape was either frozen or covered with snow and so food was unavailable.

It is pleasing to record that our suburban parks and gardens were able to help many birds survive and it shows the importance of putting out suitable food for them, along with places to shelter.

Beyond doubt, our own feeders have been busy this winter with visits by all the usual garden birds, including wood pigeons, collared doves, pheasants and a female great spotted woodpecker.

And, of course, the feeders provide us with great entertainment along with a strong sense of satisfaction.