This Saturday (August 8) will see one of the rare openings of the cellar under the ruins of Blackfriars Barn. This is reckoned to be the most impressive cellar in Winchelsea, but is a bit of a mystery. It is not thought to have been a wine cellar, unlike Winchelsea’s fifty other known vaulted cellars.
One wall of this cellar is covered in medieval ship graffiti (vaguely visible on the right of the picture above), the only other example of which is in Southampton. Blackfriars Barn cellar, which is owned by the National Trust, is rarely open to the public, in part, because it is a bat roost. This year, it will be open only on Saturday and for Heritage Open Day on September 13.
Both tours of Blackfriars Barn cellars will be led on behalf of the National Trust by the Winchelsea Archaeological Society and are free. To join either tour, turn up at the ruins by the side of Rectory Lane (watch the traffic) at 2 or 3:30pm on Saturday or at 11am or 2pm on 13 September. In addition to the cellar, the tours will explain the fascinating history of the building above. This may have been a medieval guildhall.
Winchelsea Archaeological Society are also running one of their regular tours of other cellars in the village on Saturday, starting at 2pm from Castle Street. These tours cost £5. This tour will end up at the Blackfriars Barn cellar, so will be longer than usual.
Photo: Richard Comotto
Image Credits: Rye News library .