STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES OF WINTERBOURNE MEDIEVAL BARN

5 JULY 2023

Following significant renovation works, Winterbourne Medieval Barn Trust (WMBT) became the Leaseholder of the Barn complex, which is owned by South Gloucestershire Council (SGC).

The continued preservation of the Barn is enabled by a commercial operation which hires out the venue for events, and licences other entities to operate from the Barn premises. In line with WMBT’s charitable aims, these are small artisan businesses, and as the brewing of beer and making of cider are traditional rural activities, 3 Engineers Brewery (3EB) fitted this broad remit, and on 1^st July 2020 became a Licensee of Unit 1 of the Cow Byres, permitted to brew beer on site.

3EB requested permission to open a “taproom” within the Unit, and WMBT agreed the sale of beer brewed by 3EB and one local cider, in line with the traditions of the area, and also soft drinks and pre-packaged snacks. 3EB then unilaterally added the retail sale of wine to their offer, breaching the conditions of their Licence, and also without consulting WMBT as the Premises Alcohol Licence holder.

When this became apparent to WMBT, 3EB were asked to remove this offer, and when the breach of the Licence became persistent, a meeting was arranged for 24^th November 2022 that re-stated the limitation of the Licence agreement. 3EB continue to challenge the terms of the Licence and

on June 3^rd the Licence extension for 2023 was returned with a handwritten statement that rejected the terms of the Licence, so in fact 3EB had decided not to continue operating from the WMBT premises. WMBT offered an interim extension to enable the packing up of the operation, and to enable a new Licensee to be sourced, but the deadline for agreement passed with no meaningful response.

No Licence was agreed, the last “taproom” session was on Wednesday 28^th June, and on Saturday 1^st July the 3EB Licence came to an end, though equipment is still on site in the North Yard.

WMBT has successfully operated other Licence agreements and will continue to deliver the range of events that ensure the future preservation of the Barn, follow the Business Plan agreed with SGC and the National Lottery and provide a cultural asset to the local community.

We hope this has been useful background, and an alternative perspective to the views and comments you may have already heard or read.

At Winterbourne Medieval Barn so much of what we do is thanks to our dedicated team of volunteers.  Recently refurbished to a very high standard the Barn and grounds are a popular heritage centre at the heart of the community.

A wide range of volunteer opportunities are on offer and all with the flexibility to fit with your commitment and interests.

From welcoming our visitors, stewarding at events, assisting at our workshops or tending the walled garden in our beautiful rural setting, every single volunteer makes a valuable difference.

As our community events programme is increasing, we are currently keen to recruit more volunteers to our events, publicity and audio visual team so if you have experience in these areas please get in touch.

Some of the benefits of volunteering at the Barn include: free access to a range of events when on duty.  External and in-house training in first aid, presentation skills, safeguarding and social media.  Social trips to other heritage sites, regular volunteer meet-ups and an annual festive ‘thank you’ quiz night.

Our opportunities are open to people aged 18 and over, from all backgrounds and experience levels.  We particularly encourage applications from people of Black, Asian and other UK minority communities as these groups are currently under-represented in the heritage sector.

Click here to go to our Volunteer Portal to see our existing volunteer opportunities.

In addition to these opportunities we are also looking to recruit a Volunteer Coordinator, and Volunteer Keyholders. Please click the links to find out more about these specific roles

If you would like to find out more, please get in touch at contact@winterbournebarn.org.uk and we will get back to you to arrange a time to invite you to the Barn.

Today’s dance is inspired by the tale of King Charles VI of France who entertained wedding guests by dressing up as a Wodewose (a wild man of the forest). Unfortunately, their costumes set on fire as they were dancing and the King had to be extinguished by a lady’s large skirt. We’re going a bit interpretive today…so let your inner wild thing out!

Send us any clips of you dancing along at home! events@winterbournebarn.org.uk

We welcome any donations through our Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/winterbourne-medievalbarntrust

The music from our videos this week is courtesy of A Merrie Noyse. You can listen to more of their tracks on Spotify and find them online: www.merrienoyse.com

Ever wanted to know what dance was like back in medieval times? Now’s your chance to find out as we move like medieval folk!

We’ll learn a section of dance each day before putting them together in a finale routine at the end of the week. Each day has a different theme, all inspired by medieval dances, or stories from the time. Today is day 1 and we’re learning a Carole, or circle dance!

Send us any clips of you dancing along at home! events@winterbournebarn.org.uk

We welcome any donations through our Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/winterbourne-medievalbarntrust

The music from our videos this week is courtesy of A Merrie Noyse. You can listen to more of their tracks on Spotify and find them online: www.merrienoyse.com