Kardos Carpentry & joinery

Cornish Barn

Cornish barn was designed and built by Tim Wade with the help of local skilled craftsmen and volunteers. Built from locally grown oak and douglas fir, using old age techniques in the construction.

A new, but traditional element has been added to the North Cornwall skyline. A brand new forestry barn, built in the traditional way from Cornish timber, has become a permanent feature of the forestry area at the Royal Cornwall showground.


Lifting the trusses Lifting the trusses Lifting the trusses Lifting the trusses Barn raising Barn raising Making oak pegs Roof carpentry. The finished Cornish Barn. The entrance The Entrance with carving Wattle and daub panels Cornish barn ready for the show. Inside the barn Daubing Mud wrestling! Wattle alt text here

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The main objective of the project was to promote locally-grown timber and to give a much needed boost to the forestry, woodland and wood-processing industries in Cornwall and the west country. The barn was proposed, designed by Tim Wade, the Wales based wood craftsman who has a long association with the Royal Cornwall Show. He started building the barn, in March 2003, with the aim to finish the main structure ready for the 2003 Royal Cornwall Show in June. This was to be a 2 or 3 stage project, with a shingled roof, from sawn western red cedar shingles ( provide by Tino Rawnsley) which was completed by the summer of 2004. With additions planned for future years- i.e. Windows, Doors , information boards and floors. It is an impressive three-bay barn, 30 foot long, 20 foot wide, an 8 foot porch projecting out of the front of the barn.

The barns main structure has been built from locally grown Oak and sweet chestnut, standing on granite plinths. Larch and Douglas fir was used for the wall cladding, floor joists and roof rafters. the lower part of the walls are stone built in the traditional Cornish Style. Local craftsmen, and voluntary organisations such as the National Trust and Silvanus worked along side Tim on the building. During the show there were many demonstrations given on oak frame building, wattle and daubing, sawmilling and wood carving by Cornish craftsmen in and around the Barn. In Future shows the barn will become a main focal point for the promotion of Cornish timber and it’s products. Promoting local skills, Local timber, building products, handmade furniture and advice on forestry. Geraint Richards is the Royal Cornwall Show forestry president and a forester, believes the barn has become a great asset . “ We have been getting increasingly good crowds at the forestry exhibit over the years, but now with the new barn it has proved extremely successful. We want to show that whatever use you put it to, home grown timber is as good and often better than imported timber. The more people use locally grown timber, the more timber we can plant for the future, and therefore gradually boost the declining local rural economy.” Forestry is in a bad way in Cornwall and most of Britain. Although planting and management is on the increase, we have started from a low base with 8-11 % forestry cover- that’s not very good compared from our European partners, who in some countries have over 40 % managed forestry cover. It is important to always specify wood in all aspects of building, because wood is the most sustainable building material. Trees soak up carbon dioxide and breathe oxygen, the more trees we grow, the more carbon dioxide we pull out of the atmosphere, thus helping to combat global warming and securing the future of mankind.

Kardos Carpentry and Joinery