WINTERBOURNE MEDIEVAL BARN
Project Details
This grade II* gem was built in 1342, by Thomas De Bradeston, just outside the Hamlet of Winterbourne, adjacent to the grade I listed St Michaels church. The relatively large site consists of several buildings which include the Main Barn with its South Range, the adjoining West Barn, the Cow Byres and the Cart Shed. The 1342 roof to the Main Barn remains largely intact and is one of the finest examples of medieval carpentry of it’s time.
When purchased by South Gloucestershire Council in 1998 the building was in a perilous state. Fortunately an emergency repair scheme was undertaken which stabilised the structure until further funding and a new purpose could be realised.
Corbel were enlisted alongside West Waddy Architects of Oxford and the Winterbourne Medieval Barn Trust to help realise the next phase in the buildings 678 year history. As is the case with all of our historic buildings a purpose and often a source of income is required for them to exist. The design team alongside the Trust had developed a scheme that would provide both of these things.
Our work involved the reversal of some serious modern interventions on the West Barn that had been part completed (illegally) in the 1990s. Windows were re-established and new oak windows and screens were added to “watertight” the building.
The West Barn has a fairly modern roof structure which was in good repair so all that was needed was a strip and recover of the pan tile roof.
Masonry repairs and re-pointing were carried out where required on the external envelope and new rainwater goods accompanied by new drainage took water away from the building for the first time in a long while.
Internally we added a new floor which enabled conference rooms, office space, WC and kitchen facilities to be incorporated into the building.
A complete new M&E system was incorporated into the whole site, inclusive of underfloor heating fed by air source heat pumps located out of sight in the carpark.
The walls were finished in lime plaster and oak-finishes throughout completed what is now a stylish suite of rooms within the West Barn.
To allow better ease of movement and flow throughout the site a brand new Oak and masonry link was built to adjoin the Main Barn to the West Barn. This new addition already sits incredibly well in its historic surrounding due to the careful selection of appropriate materials and local stone.
Within the main barn a lighter touch was adopted which consisted mainly of the introduction of a new underfloor heating system, within a new limecrete slab to the West half. This was finished with natural stone and pointed in lime mortar.
Elsewhere in the barn an impressive lighting scheme was incorporated, which was designed around showcasing the medieval roof, whilst remaining functional and adaptable for events.
The Cow Byres units were overhauled and extended by one large unit. These self-contained buildings all having their own kitchen facilities and an independent W.C area. They will provide much needed revenue for the Trust to be able to maintain the buildings for many more years to come.
External works included a complete new drainage system and extensive landscaping to create grassed areas, accessible driveways and carparks using both gravel and self-binding gravel and bod paved areas to provide overflow parking when large events are held.
The project was an excellent to work on with an superb architectural practice and client team. The fifty-two week programme was brought in exactly on-time and exactly to budget. The results are stunning and form an integral part of the buildings amazing past and of course future.
Architect: West Waddy ADP
Client: The Winterbourne Medieval Barn Trust.
Contract Period: 52 weeks
Contract value: 1.1 million
