Open Day at 16th century Croft Barn at Whitecastle Vineyard

VISITORS will be welcomed to the listed grade II* Croft Barn at Whitecastle Vineyard, Llanvetherine during this year’s open day organised by The Village Trust on Bank Holiday Sunday, August 26th from 2 – 5pm.

The Trust worked in partnership with the barn’s owners, Robb and Nicola Merchant to conserve the barn with the aid of grants from Cadw and Heritage Lottery Fund. Timbers in the barn have been dated back to late 1500s.

During the restoration work distinctive oak wattle panels in the walls were conserved and replacement ones crafted; the high doors of the threshing barn were renewed and the original cruck trusses and wall timbers used to create the barn frame were repaired. Local stone was used to cover the floor of the barn where threshing of corn was originally carried out.

The barn sits at the edge of the productive vineyard planted by the Merchants, alongside Trerhew Brook. The barn was built as part of the Great Trerhew estate and was originally larger than it stands today.

Members of the Trust will be on hand during the open day to talk to visitors and there will some craft activities for children and refreshments on offer. Entry is free, there is parking and toilet facilities and the site can be accessed by wheelchair. Interpretation material used on open days includes a moving augmented reality ‘farmer’ on a tablet who describes the barn’s purpose in English and using the original Welsh common to the area in Elizabethan times.

During the afternoon there may be an opportunity to walk across adjacent fields to view the Great Trerhew Barn, a huge grade II* listed threshing barn belonging to the Beavan family which was restored by the Trust a decade ago.

The barn will be signposted off the B4521 Skenfrith to Abergavenny road. Details of the Trust can be found at www.villagealivetrust.org.uk