History of “The Barn”

There is a fine oak beam in Maidens Barn inscribed with the date 1806. We believe the Barn is at least that old. Elm is used alongside oak in the construction of the Barn and we know that during the Napoleonic wars there was a scarcity of oak as it was required by the Navy for its ships. As a result elm was often used in its place. Originally the Barn was built as a place to store hay and feed for the cows, sheep and pigs that, in those days, were an important part of the agricultural life at Maidens Farm.

The farm has belonged to the Matthews family since 1750. Today Clive Matthews runs Maidens Farm with his eldest son, George. These days sadly there are no animals. The last animals left the farm in 1963. Since that time we have grown wheat, peas, beans, oilseed rape, linseed, borage and potatoes.

With the animals gone Maidens Barn stood idle. Wind and rain, and time, did their worst and the Barn began to show its age. Damage sustained during the huge storm in 1987 led to it developing an alarming tilt and prompt action was needed to save it. Clive literally had to hoist it upright again with a tractor and use pile posts to stabilise it. It was too beautiful a building to let it slowly deteriorate into the soil. But what to do with it?

Not for a moment do we regret that decision to give Maidens Barn a new lease of life

In the year 2000 Clive and Katherine decided to renovate Maidens Barn and run it as a luxury wedding venue. Renovation took place two long years to complete and was always dependent on our time and the amount of money available! As well as restoring the Barn, a garden had to be created from scratch – planning a garden suitable for wedding receptions, civil ceremonies and creating a idyllic spot for wedding photos out of a field of muddy clay proved quite a challenge. Looking at the beautiful trees and shrubs today it is hard to believe how recently the wedding garden came into being.

Maidens Barn luxury wedding venue was launched in 2002 and we took our first bookings for a barn wedding in 2003. Since then we have hosted hundreds of weddings ceremonies and wedding receptions and have met thousands of wonderful people, all of whom have brought so much into our lives. Not for a moment do we regret that decision to give Maidens Barn a new lease of life.

We ran the wedding Barn on our own until 2009 when we were joined by Adam, who is our Bar Manager, and Carol who now runs the office with fantastic efficiency. We are a small and friendly family run concern, proud to have been able to offer so many couples a luxury barn wedding venue in Essex.

Please contact us to arrange a visit or request a brochure, 01245 231 363.