English Heritage - Harmondsworth Barn — Attraction in London

Harmondsworth Barn is the largest such Medieval barn surviving in England and, it is thought, the third largest ever built. It is vast. Its structure is an example, long before Le Corbusier, of the beauty that can arise when form follows function. Very knowledgeable, friendly volunteers are there to help and there are information boards too.

There is some parking at the site which can also be reached by various bus services to Harmondsworth: they stop a short walk away.

To make the most of your visit, you could also visit the grave of Cox (after whom the apple variety Cox's Orange Pippin was named) in the graveyard of the adjacent St Mary's church: go up the churchyard path then go right then left to find the low table-tomb beneath a yew tree.

You could also visit a memorial to Barnes Wallis, the Dambusters, and the role played by the Road Research Laboratory which was once located in Harmondsworth. To get to the memorial, as you leave the Barn site, walk across the front of the Six Bells pub then go right for a hundred yards or so...

Just by chance my wife and I stumbled upon the Harmondsworth barn and ancient church next door. We were greeted first at the church by a groundskeeper who entertained us with its history and beauty. That same kind man also showed us the barn through a gap in the wall between the church and barn.

We walk a few steps to the locked gate of the barn property, and tried to get a more complete view but could not see much through the locked gate.

As we were walking away another kind gentleman arrived on his bike and noticed us trying to get a look.

“Would you like to walk around?” He asked “Yes, please” we excitedly answered.

He unlocked the gate let us in, locked the gate behind us and even unlocked the barn itself. Absolutely...

Dubbed the "Cathedral of Middlesex" by Sir John Betjeman, Harmondsworth Barn ranks alongside the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey for its exceptional architectural and historic interest. Built in 1426 by Winchester College, 14 years before Gutenberg completed his printing press, it is one of the most complete and unaltered pre-Dissolution buildings in Britain.

Used for agricultural purposes until as late as the 1970s, it fell into disrepair. It was taken over by English Heritage, restored, and is currently managed by the Friends of the Great Barn at Harmondsworth.

The building is only open a couple of days a month, but you can walk around the outside at any time. There is also a granary raised on staddle stones at...