A remarkable piece of medieval London is undergoing an ambitious restoration as master thatchers begin work on one of the capital’s oldest and largest thatched buildings. The 15th-century Upminster Tithe Barn, a stunning survivor from the age of Waltham Abbey, is receiving a new lease of life thanks to a £650,000 project.
The restoration involves an extraordinary feat of traditional craftsmanship, with four master thatchers and two apprentices using around 11,000 bundles of water reed – weighing approximately 30 tonnes – to create a new roof that should last up to 60 years. The finishing touch will be a pair of decorative boxing hares crafted from straw, continuing a centuries-old thatching tradition.
“The re-thatching is no mean feat,” explains Dr. Steve Sherlock, Heritage Advisor at National Highways, which is funding most of the project through the Lower Thames Crossing scheme. “At 44 metres long, this is one of the largest thatched barns in Britain.”
The project comes at a crucial time for the scheduled monument, which was added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register in 2023. Beyond the dramatic roof replacement, the work includes essential repairs to structural timbers and historic brickwork, supported by a £97,664 grant from Historic England.
Built around 1450 during a period known as the Great Slump, the barn stands as a testament to medieval craftsmanship. It originally served as part of the Waltham Abbey estate when the area was open countryside, and has remained remarkably unchanged despite the transformation of its surroundings into modern London.
The restoration work is expected to take 12 months to complete, after which this extraordinary building should be removed from the Heritage at Risk Register, preserving it for future generations to explore and enjoy.
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