Winchester College's 1420s oak barn near Heathrow, dated by its timbers to trees felled in 1426, that John Betjeman nicknamed the Cathedral of Middlesex
Open to visitorsan English Heritage site — check opening times and admission before you go
Harmondsworth’s great barn is held up by thirteen massive oak trusses running the length of the building, carpentry so accomplished that English Heritage rates it among the best-preserved of its age anywhere in the country. Winchester College built the barn in the 1420s for its manor farm here, to store and thresh the oats, barley and wheat grown on the estate; tree-ring dating shows the timbers were felled in 1426. Just under 60 metres in length, with a central nave and side aisles, it has the scale and shape of a church, which is why the poet John Betjeman nicknamed it the Cathedral of Middlesex. The barn stayed in farm use into the 1970s, then passed through years of neglectful private ownership before English Heritage stepped in to repair and buy it; today it’s free to visit on select days through the year, under two miles from Heathrow Terminal 5 Station.
