Neat that this staggered purlin and common rafter combination goes back a ways. As a little side note, I finally bought Richard Harris' little book "Discovering Timber-Framed Buildings" and found this staggered purlin style on pg 64.
The pegging of the common rafters is a detail I missed when I visited, but there is no ridge beam in this barn anyway (and neither is there in Harris' diagram about this framing) so that's interesting.
I've been thinking about those little "Ashlar Struts"... I think they were added as nailers when the horizontal boarding was attached. The barn wall w/ the older vertical boarding is lacking these little struts, so not sure if they're in place to support the rafters. But then again, vertical boarding does support the flying plates to an extent...
Harris' book makes me want to see the old frames in your country.
