WORK is underway to restore the thatched roof of the historic Tithe Barn in Abbotsbury.

Master thatcher Ed Coney, from Somerset, will begin re-thatching the roof with locally-grown reeds.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which is overseeing the project, hopes that restoration will be completed by 2006.

The Tithe Barn, built around 1400, was originally the largest building in an 11th century monastery.

The barn has more recently been used as a soft play area for children and will be closed to the public until restoration is complete.

It is estimated that 12,000 bundles of Abbotsbury water reed from the nearby Swannery will be needed for the roof.

This will take three people two seasons to harvest enough reeds.

The Rural Development Service is keen for as much local produce to be used as possible.

Repairs are also needed to stone and timber parts of the barn and a local quarry has been opened as the first source of Abbotsbury stone for 100 years.

Manager of Ilchester Estates Marcus Scrace said: "We have drafted in a series of experts in archaeology, ecclesiastical history, building conservation and thatching to consult on the work and the materials used."

Limestone exclusively for the barn will come from a quarry less than a mile away and timber will come from oak trees in the nearby Melbury Estate.

A spokesman for Defra said: "This remains one of the largest thatched buildings in the country.

"The barn survived Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, as well as the Civil War."

It is now a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument owned by descendants of the Strangways family, who bought it from Henry VIII."

Spokesman for the Rural Development Service in the South West James Grischeff added: "One of the most important elements of this restoration is the fact that nearly all the materials are being taken from local sources, much as the Benedictine monks probably did when they originally built the barn."