In 1316 Stowmarket was an outlying manor of the 12th Century Priory of St Osyth in Essex. This meant that the Church had a great deal of power in this area. Local peasants had to pay taxes (tithes) to the Church in the form of money or goods. As most peasants were extremely poor, generally the tithes were paid as 10% of anything grown, made, husbanded (bred) or produced. In the 13th century the Priory built this barn to house all tithes collected from the area. This kind of taxation often left families with very little food for themselves but the Church had to be obeyed. It was believed that disobedience would result in the soul being eternally committed to Hell.

Due to its lengthy lifespan the barn is a good example of the changing and developing forms of structural and jointing principles. It has undergone many alterations: the 19th century saw the conversion from thatch to tiled roof and from wattle and daub walls to weatherboarding. In 1968 the elements took charge and a freak storm resulted in 60 feet of the barn collapsing into a heap. The damage was irreparable.

The barn was part of a working farm throughout the Second World War with the Longe sisters (the owners) running it very successfully with the assistance of the Land Army. After this time however it went out of use. Years later, in 1967, the once bustling farmyard became the nucleus of the Museum of Rural Life.