Farming in Protected Landscapes funding has restored two very special heritage buildings in the Malvern Hills National Landscape. 

Hawthorns Barn: A late medieval cruck-framed threshing barn

Hawthorns Barn on the Bromesberrow Estate is one of the more remarkable agricultural buildings in the Malvern Hills National Landscape. A late medieval cruck-framed threshing barn, it was built somewhere between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries and substantially rebuilt in the mid-nineteenth century – its great curved timber crucks a direct link to the craftsmen and farming communities of medieval England. By the time the restoration project began, the building was in serious need of intervention. A Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) Heritage Building Restoration Grant of £201,436 made that possible.

A stunning restoration

The project focused on stabilising, water-tighting and weatherproofing the barn, addressing the full range of issues that accumulate in a building of this age. Work included rainwater goods, roofing, groundworks, foundation and sole plate repairs, and repairs to the frames, doors, windows and cladding. The FiPL funding covered the core restoration work, while the estate chose to invest further from its own resources to bring the project to the highest standard – a commitment that has resulted in a stunning restoration of a locally important building.

Looking ahead

The restored barn will serve both the estate and the wider community. In time, the Bromesberrow Estate has plans for the barn to play a role in making the southern end of the Malvern Hills more open and accessible to visitors and local people alike. The restoration of Hawthorns Barn is not only an act of conservation – it is an investment in the cultural and community life of the landscape for generations to come.

Redlands Farmstead: A Victorian ‘Fairy Farmstead’

Redlands Farmstead is not like any other building in the Malvern Hills National Landscape. Built in 1898, it is what is known as a ‘Fairy Farmstead’ – a compact, ingeniously designed Victorian agricultural building that brings together pig sties, stables and byres, an apple loft, a hay loft, a chicken shed lean-to and a composting area under one roof. Quirky, unusual, and full of character, it is exactly the kind of modest vernacular building that could easily be lost when its practical purpose fades. A Heritage Building Restoration Grant of £130,795 through FiPL has secured its future.

Restoration work and wildlife

The grant supported the weatherproofing, water-tighting and stabilising of the building – essential work to arrest its deterioration and secure it for the long term. Throughout the project, particular care was taken to protect the wildlife that calls Redlands Farmstead home. The building hosts a bat roost and active swallow nests, both of which have been fully catered for in the design and delivery of the restoration works.

Community stewardship

The restored farmstead and its adjoining locally important meadow are now being maintained and cared for by a local environmental volunteer charity – ensuring that the building is not simply preserved but actively looked after and enjoyed. Together, the farmstead and meadow form a small but genuinely special corner of the Malvern Hills landscape.