Wanborough Great Barn

While I was in Guildford yesterday I saw a handbill advertising Wanborough Great Barn, originally built in 1388 by the Cistercian monks of Waverley Abbey, Surrey. It's only open for a handful of days per year, and today was one of those days. The last time I visited was in 2008, despite it being less than 15miles away, so I took advantage of the glorious weather for a trip out.

The barn was restored as part of planning permission for a small housing development, built sympathetically to reflect the style of the surrounding farmland and village setting. Today it is owned by Guildford Council, but run by local villagers, who made visitors very welcome, with afternoon tea (home-made cakes of course) and a guided tour of the barn and adjacent parish church with a very knowledgeable gentleman - a member of the Guildford Museum Service - who lives "on the other side of the Hog's Back" (the A31).

This is view of the inside of the barn. The big black door on the left was enlarged to roof height in the middle ages to accommodate hay waggons coming in full of hay. They exited when empty through an original door on the right. This was sufficiently high for the flocks of sheep housed in the barn when it was originally used as part of the Wool Trade.

I debated what to do about the rather miserable looking couple standing politely to wait until I'd finished - but left them alone as they show the scale of the building, and remind me of the golden rule about looking round the frame for distracting things before taking the shot!