Heathrow expansion ‘is threat to England’s largest surviving medieval barn’

England's largest surviving medieval timber-framed barn, the New Barn at Harmondsworth, faces a potential threat from the proposed Heathrow Airport expansion. Campaigners warn that the 600-year-old structure could be "shaken to pieces" by vibrations from aircraft taking off and landing.

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could be shaken to pieces by the vibrations from airplanes taking off

The New Barn, built in 1426, is a remarkable example of medieval architecture, noted for its extraordinary scale and the near-complete survival of its original structural timbers. Measuring nearly 60 meters long, 12 meters wide, and 11 meters tall, it is supported by 13 massive oak trusses. The former poet laureate Sir John Betjeman famously described it as a "cathedral" due to its size and atmosphere.

Justine Bayley, a former archaeological scientist for English Heritage and chair of the Stop Heathrow Expansion campaign, expressed grave concerns. She highlighted that the extended airport boundary would be mere hundreds of meters from the barn, posing a significant risk to its structural integrity. "It's not plus or minus 10 years or half a century. How many late medieval buildings do we know when they were built?" Bayley questioned, emphasizing the barn's exceptional state of preservation with over 95% original timbers.

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It’s not plus or minus 10 years or half a century. How many late medieval buildings do we know when they were built? Its structural timbers are more than 95% original.

English Heritage purchased the barn in 2011 and plans to host a major conference there in September. Bayley questions the barn's future if the Heathrow expansion proceeds with a third runway. The Department for Transport has declared Heathrow a critical national infrastructure, potentially allowing environmental and climate change legislation to be overridden to facilitate the expansion. This expansion also involves the displacement of villages and rendering others uninhabitable, a detail already subject to consultation.

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The Department for Transport (DfT) has declared that Heathrow is a critical national infrastructure and therefore all the legislation to do with environmental limits and climate change and so on can be just ridden roughshod over because they’ve decided that it was more important that Heathrow’s expansion goes ahead.