Museums & Galleries · Surrey
The Great Barn of Wanborough
📍 GU3 2JR
Photo: Stefan Czapski (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
- Oldest and most important wooden building in three counties
- Built by Cistercian monks 630 years ago
- Aisled barn with massive oak timbers and threshing floor
- Exhibition covering 10,000 years of Wanborough history and SOE links
- Guided tours of the barn and hamlet on Open Days
The Great Barn of Wanborough is the oldest and most important wooden building in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, built in 1388 by the Cistercian monks of Waverley Abbey to store the manor's crops and fleeces. Inside, you can see its massive oak timbers, threshing floor and the clever through-draft system once used to separate chaff from grain, alongside an exhibition spanning 10,000 years of Wanborough history, including local SOE connections. It opens for Sunday Open Days between April and August, plus September's Heritage Open Days, when volunteer guides lead tours of the barn and surrounding hamlet. It's also a popular wedding venue. With Wanborough station less than a mile away and 32 bookable places to stay within 5 miles, it suits a relaxed day trip or an overnight stay in the area.
Practical details
- Open
- Open Days on Sundays five times a year, April to August
- Booking
- Wedding bookings now being taken for 2028
- Best for
- Visitors interested in history, heritage buildings and weddings
From the attraction's own website on 3 Oct 2026 — check before you travel.
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Make a proper break of it — these stays are all within 25 miles.
2 mi
2.6 mi
2.6 mi
3.3 mi
3.6 mi
3.8 mi
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🗓️ Make a break of it
Turn a visit to The Great Barn of Wanborough into a proper getaway — ready-made plans, and the drive worked out with fuel, EV charging and the best stops.
🚆 Or come by train
- Wanborough 0.9 miles
- Ash 2.5 miles
- Farncombe 3.5 miles
Straight-line distances · live departures on each station page