An intriguing medieval site

Winterbourne Medieval Barn is a building of national importance. Built in 1342, just a few years before the Black Death swept across England, the barn is an extraordinary survivor of our medieval past. It was commissioned by Thomas de Bradeston, who was Lord of the Manor of Winterbourne from 1328 until his death in 1360.

Major building works have recently been completed with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and many other generous funders and donors to revitalise the whole Barn complex into a community heritage site promoting the knowledge of medieval history, its architecture, agricultural landscape and people.

What happens at the Barn

As a multi-purpose venue we host a range of activities for the local community including family activities, music and theatre performances, craft workshops, a monthly lecture series, and our flagship events the Medieval Fayre and Orchard Harvest Days.

The Barn makes a unique and beautiful setting for a magical wedding day and is available for hire all year round. The Barn and seminar rooms can also be hired for celebration events, film shoots, and meetings. Get in touch to find out more.

Next Events

Click here to go to our full event listing page.

Traditional wood carving workshop

Date: 9th February 2025
Time: 10:30 am - 4:30 pm
Location: Winterbourne Medieval Barn
WAB7738

Come and learn how to carve a medieval design into seasoned oak with a skilled and experienced professional woodcarver and teacher!
Our tutor Alistair will guide you through the process of carving a design from around the same time as the beautiful barn at Winterbourne was being constructed, using traditional mallets, gouges and chisels. This course is suitable for any skill level, from absolute beginners to those with some experience.

All tools and a block of oak measuring approximately 200 x 170 x 20mm (roughly 7¾” x 6¾” x ¾”) will be supplied, or feel free to bring your own special piece of wood if you prefer.
Learn some of the skills of those craftspeople from hundreds of years ago, using tools and timber similar to those that they would have used themselves.
You can see more of Alistair’s work at: https://carvings-with-stories.co.uk

Tea & coffee will be provided throughout the workshop but please bring your own packed lunch.

Free parking on site.

The primary purpose of this event is to raise money for WMBT and to support conservation, management, maintenance and improvement of the WMBT site.

If you wish to avoid the online booking fee then please contact the office to arrange a time to come and book in person.

Apple Grafting Workshop

Date: 22nd February 2025
Time: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: Winterbourne Medieval Barn
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Come and learn how to graft apple trees on this course under the tuition of Tim Andrews, owner of Orchard Revival.

About your tutor:
Tim is a commercial cider maker and orchard specialist. He has over 20 years teaching experience and has featured on Gardeners World and Countryfile for his work on orchards.

Grafting is the process of propagating new trees. You take the scion wood which is a shoot from the apple tree that you wish to propagate, and then fuse it to a rootstock. The rootstock is the stem of another tree which has been selected for control of size of the new tree. This way you can clone fruit varieties, guaranteeing that you end up with the same apple as on the original tree. 

You will learn why we graft, how to graft and put these skills into practice by forming at least three grafts that you can take away at the end of the day.

Tim will provide a range of root stocks, both apple and pear, for grafting. If you have a favourite that you wish to propagate, then bring your own wood to graft. 

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided throughout the workshop.  

What to bring:
Please bring your own lunch and make sure you wear suitable clothing to keep you warm and comfortable (and that may get a little messy) whilst working in the main barn.
Knives, secateurs and scion wood will be supplied as part of the workshop, but you are very welcome to bring your own equipment and scions should you wish.

The primary purpose of this event is to raise money for WMBT and to support conservation, management, maintenance and improvement of the WMBT site.

If you wish to avoid the online booking fee then please contact the office to arrange a time to come and book in person.

Weddings

We’re now taking enquiries and bookings for wedding celebrations. The Barn and grounds make a spectacular backdrop for a special occasion. At Winterbourne Medieval Barn you have the flexibility to create an event that is as unique as you are. Check out our weddings page for more information.