What’s On This Autumn

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We have a range of talks, workshops, and craft activities coming up this autumn.  All events are socially-distanced and must be pre-booked online. Adults are asked to wear a face-covering indoors.  The new toilets are open, the site is fully accessible, and there is free car parking on site.  At most events our mini cafe will be open for drinks and snacks.

Monthly Talks
 

Tues 10 November, 7pm – Talk: 180 Years of the Gloucestershire Constabulary

Sue Webb, force archivist with Glos police force, looks at the Constabulary in the historic county of Gloucestershire (which used to include South Glos).

Tues 1 December, 7pm – Talk: Magic in Medieval Communities
Dr Tabitha Stanmore explores the role magic played in medieval people’s everyday lives.

Tickets are £5 for all Talks.  We are also live-streaming selected talks on Zoom for those who cannot get a ticket, or who do not feel happy going out and about yet. Full details and booking links (for in-person and online talks) can be found on the Barn website

Workshops

 

Sat 24 October 10.30am – Make your own Felt Hat from Scratch with Fi Harris

The Hatting Industry was a major employer in the Frampton-Winterbourne area in the 1700 and 1800s. Get a glimpse into what’s involved by using wet-felting techniques to turn wool fibres into felt, and then design and create your very own hat – serious or frivolous!  Expert tuition and fun from Fi Harris of FELTbyFi.

Sat 5 December, 10am – Christmas Fabric Wreath workshop
There are only a few tickets left for all these workshops, so book now!

Family Fun

Halloween Spooktacular on Wed 28th October
Tell Trails – A Medieval Christmas on Sat 28 November
Family activities last around 2 hours and cost £5 per family. They are aimed at children aged 5-11 but pre-schoolers are welcome to join in.  Covid regulations apply and pre-booking a timed slot is essential. Full details on the Barn website or book directly on ticketsource .

 

 

Monthly Tea and Tour
First Thursday afternoon of the month. Enjoy a cuppa while your hear about the history of the Barn and medieval rural society. Then have a look around the newly-refurbished West Barn and the rest of the site as well as the Medieval Barn itself.  Book online.

Barn Sounds No. 1

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Tony and Christine Harding

Our volunteer team are the heart and soul of the Barn. Without their passion, dedication, expertise, and experience, we wouldn’t be in the fortunate position we’re in today. As the building phase nears completion, we’ve been speaking to volunteers who have been involved in the project over the years to find out how the Barn has changed, and what it’s been like to volunteer here.

Our first recording is with Tony and Christine Harding who have been involved in the Barn since 2000. They talk about the evolution of the Barn and those early volunteer activities including “scrub bashing”.

We’ll publish more edited interviews over the coming weeks on this Latest News page.

 

Barn Update – March 2020

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Update from the Barn

The team have met to discuss COVID-19 and the impact that has on our future plans. We have made the difficult decision to postpone all of our events until the end of June 2020. The health and wellbeing of our staff, volunteers, and the community comes first and we don’t want to put anyone at a greater risk of becoming unwell. We will review the situation at the end of April when we hope to be able to start booking and confirming future event dates.

We have suspended all event ticket sales for the time being. All current ticket holders have already been contacted directly. We will be aiming to reschedule all events and tickets will remain valid for the new date. Once we’re confident we can re-open, we’ll transfer tickets and will reinstate ticket sales.

In happier news, we welcome a new member of staff, Hazel, who takes up the role of Business and Development Manager. Barn business will not grind to a halt as the team will be planning educational activities, rescheduling events, and making plans for the rest of the year.

We’re so looking forward to being able to properly welcome visitors to the new improved Barn site not too far in the future.

Take care of yourselves and we shall see you soon.

Best Wishes,
Jasmine

 

Happy New Year

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A very Happy New Year from all of us at Winterbourne Medieval Barn.

New floor in the main Barn

2020 is going to be a big year for us as we get ready to open our Barn doors once again later in the year. Our building works are due for completion in the Spring and the site is really starting to take shape.

In the Main Barn a new underfloor heating system has been laid at one end with a new floor going in on top. Aside from a clean up and a few coats of lime wash, not much else has been done in the main part of the Barn.

 

 

It’s around the rest of the site that the main striking transformations are taking place. The old cow byres are shaping up to look like wonderful artisanal workspaces. These will be available to rent from the Spring.

Inside the cow byre spaces

External view of the cow byres

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elsewhere, the old dilapidated West Barn is looking very different having been initially gutted and then split into two levels with new seminar rooms, a kitchen, and toilet facilities. New glass doors have been added on the North side to make a light and airy entrance hall.

Inside one room of the West Barn

External view of the West Barn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interpretation corridor is now weather tight. This space links the Main and West Barn to allow people to travel between both without having the need to go out of doors. It will also contain our interpretation display about the history of the Barn and surrounding area.

Interpretation Corridor

Into the West Barn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we re-open later this year, we’ll be back with our full programme of events including music, film, and theatre performances. We’ll be a local learning centre with schools able to visit for workshops about life in the past, as well as adult learning opportunities with the continuation of regular craft workshops, and our lecture series. The Barn and seminar rooms will be available to hire for a range of celebration events, conferences, and meetings.

Keep an eye on our social media pages for regular Barn updates. We look forward to welcoming you back at the Barn very soon!

 

Thanks to Ryan from Corbel Construction for the site photographs.

New Business and Development Manager Role

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Applications are now closed

Are you looking for a new challenge where you can use your commercial and operational skills working in an exciting heritage redevelopment project?

Winterbourne Medieval Barn is preparing to re-open its doors to the public in Spring 2020 and we need your skills to help deliver our vision for the future.

Please click on the following links to download documents.

  1. Job Advertisement
  2. Applicant Letter
  3. Job Description
  4. Application Form
  5. Equal Opportunities Form
  6. Winterbourne Barn Information

Please download, complete, and return the Application and Equal Opportunities Form.

For an informal conversation about this role, please email suefox42@btinternet.com and include your contact number and availability.

The closing date for this role is 9.00am on Monday 9th December 2019 with interviews taking place on Monday 6th January 2020.

Builders Blog #3

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We’re well into the build now, just over the half way mark and the works are moving at quite the pace!

Inside the main Barn, underfloor heating is starting to go in at one end which should help to take the chill off if you’re watching a performance, and a coat of lime wash has been added to the walls.

The Main Barn

Around the site elsewhere, the West Barn which was dilapidated has been transformed. The upstairs floor has gone in, and partition walls are going up to mark out what will be seminar rooms, a kitchen, and new toilets. Work has also begun on the new interpretation gallery which will link the main Barn to the West Barn so you’ll be able to access both without going outdoors.

Inside the West Barn

The New Interpretation Gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

The extension to the cow byres is in place, and the roof tiles are now on. The doors are being hung and work is continuing inside to make them artisan workshop spaces.

Cow Byres

Cow Byres

September News

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Autumn at the Barn
Apple varieties on display at Orchard Harvest Day

Events still available for 2019:

Wet-Felting Workshop                 – Sat 12 Oct, 10am – 1pm.  £35
AGM – building update and social            – Tues 15 Oct, 7.30pm
Talk: Honey – from Flower to Jar       – Thur 17 Oct, 7 – 9pm.  £5
Kids’ Halloween Costume Workshop     – Sat 26 October. Free
Talk: Brewsters, Alewives & Beer Witches   – Thu 14 Nov 7pm
Fabric Xmas Wreath-making Workshop    – Sat 7 Dec 10 -12.30
Talk: The Twelve Plants of Christmas         – Sat 14th Dec, 2pmComing up in the next month:
Wet-Felting Workshop – Make your own unique felt
one-strap shoulder bag with expert Fi Harris. A
perfect next step for those who have tried wet-felting
before. £35 includes all materials and tuition.
Talk: Honey – from Flower to Jar –  Hear from Master
Beekeeper Marin Anastasov how bees find suitable
flowers, collect nectar, and process it in to honey.
Learn about the organisation in a hive and how the
bees communicate to form a cohesive unit.

Missed out?
Some of our workshops and visits are already fully booked, but keep an eye on our website and facebook page to check for additional sessions that might be added at short notice.

Currently ‘sold out’:
Halloween workshop – 10am, 26 October
Family Advent Workshop – 30 November
Fused Glass workshops – 1.30 & 4.30pm, 30 Nov

Still thinking of booking?
Best do it now!
There may be last minute tickets available for some talks, although this cannot be guaranteed. All workshops and tours must be pre-booked, even if there is no charge.
Full information is on the website

www.winterbournebarn.org.uk
Donations to WMBT that cost you nothing!

WMBT is signed up to both Give as you Live and
Amazon Smile,
so that when you buy things online the Trust receives a percentage of the sale price as a donation.

Just register and log into these websites when you are shopping online, and WMBT will benefit at no extra cost to you.
Contact us if you have any queries about how this works.

wmbtrust@gmail.com

AGM

Tues 15 October 7.30pm All welcome.
Followed by Barn activities update and social.
2020

The full site will re-open again mid-way through next year – details to be announced nearer the time.
Before that, activities will continue in the Cart Shed.

The first event of 2020 will be another Apple-grafting workshop run by Ben Raskin of the Soil Association on 22 February from 10am – 4pm.  The cost is £45 for the day.  This workshop might make an unusual present for a keen gardener. Bookings can now be made on Ticketsource

 

Heritage Open Days

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We took part in Heritage Open Days again this year with a Cartshed drop in over the weekend where you could find out the latest Barn news and listen to some of our volunteer stories and memories of the Barn. We also ran a mosaic taster session where participants could mosaic their own plant pot to take home, and we had a behind the scenes hard hat tour of the building works.

If you weren’t able to join us over the weekend but are interested to know what’s been happening at the Barn this year and what’s in store for the future, take a look at our latest presentation by clicking the button below.

Barn Slides HOD 2019

Keep an eye on the website as we’ll be adding a page for our Barn Sounds project where you can listen to our volunteers talking about life at the Barn past and present.

Mosaic Taster Workshop

Summer at the Barn

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The Big Build

Work is progressing well on the Barn site, despite some very wet weather in June. There is scaffolding everywhere!  From the outside many changes are obvious, including the re-roofing of the West Barn, and the start to the cow byres’ extension to provide an additional workshop unit.  

The scale of the internal work can only be seen on an official ‘Hard Hat’ tour like the recent one for barn volunteers pictured above. The West Barn has been completely gutted and is full of scaffolding and props while the structure is made safe.  The insides of the Medieval Barn and South Barn have been cleaned, and new limewash is being applied – you can certainly see where the builders have got to.  Whitened walls are making each space lighter and brighter, and the barn rafters look even more stunning now that they have been ‘relieved’ of all their cobwebs and dust. 

If you would like to see for yourself, there is a Hard Hat tour on 17 September as part of the Heritage Open Days – it is free but spaces are limited and pre-booking is essential.

 

What’s On 

The programme of events for the rest of 2019 has now been announced and new leaflets are available.  All details are on the website and online bookings can be made now at  www.ticketsource.co.uk  . Numbers are limited by the space we currently have available on site, and so early booking is advised.  There are still a few tickets available for the July events but you will need to book very soon.  To allow more space, the West Gallery Music day in July and the Male Voice concert in August will be held in St Michael’s Church nextdoor to the Barn.

Coming up in 2019:

Fun summer clubs for children – archaeology or art activities

Workshops – Wine-tasting, Singing, Basket-weaving, Mosaics, Wet Felting, Christmas fabric wreath

Talks – Newport Medieval Ship, Apples, Bees and Honey, Female Brewers in History, and Christmas plants

A summer concert from Bristol Male Voice Choir and the Frampton Shantymen

Heritage Open Days – see how the building work is going, plus craft activities for children

Workshops at Hallowe’en and Advent for children and families to make seasonal things

And in February 2020 there will be another Apple-grafting workshop

Builders Blog #2

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Volunteer Hard Hat Tour

The summer might feel like it’s on hold, but building work at the Barn certainly isn’t!

With demolitions and groundworks having taken place, the Corbel team have turned their attentions to the West Barn at the far end of the site. What once was a dark, pokey space with breeze blocked rooms is now a bright open space. Scaffolding has been erected to enable repair works to the roof. Some of the windows are being blocked up, and bat roosts and bird boxes have been put up to minimise any impact to wildlife.

Work on the cow byres is progressing well with preparations having been made for a large additional workshop unit on the end of the existing byres. An old french drain was found under the main grassy area onsite which explains why water was always quick to soak away after heavy rain.

Speaking of heavy rain, with the onset of relentless bad weather over the past couple of weeks, Corbel moved inside to do some jobs on the main Barn including giving the whole space a good clean (goodbye cobwebs!), and applying a coat of limewash to the walls.

Walking around on the volunteer hard hat tour, we started to get a sense of how the site will look and feel upon completion next Spring. Although we won’t be running large scale events at the Barn site until we re-open, there’s still plenty going on. See our events page for the latest information.