A lovely place for a wedding – The Red Barn
As wedding planning season has begun, we thought we’d share one of our favourite venues with you. This is a dream location for any couples getting married and we were last there to cater for a wedding just a couple of weeks ago. It really is a magical venue to work in and we’re always delighted to cater and provide drinks for weddings there.
The Red Barn at Runcton is between King’s Lynn and Downham Market in the heart of West Norfolk and is a beautifully preserved Medieval barn. The guests here had a lovely time and the photography will be amazing for them. The food was good and exactly what the happy couple wanted. A really pleasant atmosphere and something which will stick with them and their guests forever.
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Archaeologists have dated this tythe barn as far back to the 16th Century, although it is possible parts of the building are even older because there are records dated 1457 of repairs having been done there. It is thought that it was built by monks from Bury St Edmunds to store and thresh grain.
It is known as an Aisled Barn and is constructed of oak posts and beams, some of them 12 inches square and more than 20ft long, with all joints hand carved and secured with wooden pegs.
The barn’s historic connections with Cambridge University
In 1557 the farm where the barn is located was bought by a Dr John Caius from Norwich. He used the farm as an endowment for the college he founded at Cambridge – now known as Gonville and Caius College. The college records contain many references to the farm.
Dr Caius was also the Queen’s doctor in the reign of Queen Mary I and Philip of Spain.
The college sold the farm in 1920 and it is still a working farm, known as College Farm, but it has not been used for any agricultural purpose for many years and its owners hire it out as a wedding and function venue.
This way it can be self-financing to pay for its preservation for the delight of future generations – especially for that most special of days in couples’ lives.