Please note that the barn is on private land on a working farm and is not available for public viewing except at designated times.

The barn at Great Tre-Rhew Farm, Llantilio Crossenny is listed Grade 2* and is possibly the last barn of this quality remaining in agricultural use in the county, if not in south Wales. The barn dates from the late 16th century and was probably originally wholly timber framed. It seems to have been extended in the late 17th century and now has eight bays with two kingpost trusses, gabled additions with cider mill and press, cattle stalls, stable and haylofts with stone chaff bin. The barn is constructed of rubble stone walling with a slate roof. It has a stone-flagged threshing floor and a lofted cowhouse. The entrance to the cider house is built into the step wall on the ground floor. It has a four-light diamond mullion window and still contains the large mill stone with wooden drive shaft and its cider press. Adjoining to the north is a yard enclosed by cattle pens with pent roofs supported by rounded stone pillars and a couple of smaller barns (also listed). The farm buildings are sited alongside a house with medieval foundations.

Date Stone 1696

This badly eroded date stone – now sadly completely worn away – shows the date 1696 and probably commemorates the building of the gables and perhaps other extensions. The initials J M P are those of John Price and his wife Mary, who owned the farm from about 1675, when John acquired the estate from his mother-in-law (also a member of the Price family), to John’s death in 1707.

As the pictures below show, although it was still in use, by 2005 the barn had fallen into a dilapidated state, with many missing or loose tiles and serious structural problems with the gable ends. Unless repairs could be undertaken urgently it was quite likely that the barn could soon begin to fall into ruin.

Before and After photos:

The Trust took on the task of securing funding to carry out the necessary conservation work and was successful in obtaining grants from Cadw, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Assembly Government, and Monmouthshire County Council. Together with contributions from private individuals and from the Trust and its members, it has been possible to carry out conservation work that not only allows the barn to continue in its major role as a farm building, but also to allow its use for public functions and educational work.

Click on a picture below to take a video tour of the barn with Edward Holland or see how the Village Alive Trust became involved with its conservation.