Hartwell’s Barn from Brill Common with Saunder’s Field and Muswell Hill behind.
Hartwell’s Barn & Saunder’s Field : a community project
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what is Hartwell’s Barn?
Hartwell’s Barn is a picturesque, traditionally constructed agricultural building on the edge of Brill Common, 100m or so due west of Brill Windmill. It stands in a four acre field known as Saunder’s Field. The barn and field are privately owned but used regularly by Brill Environment Group (BEG) and other community groups. This special place has been a focus of Brill community life for over a decade, hosting environmental activities, theatrical and musical productions, teaching, and commemorative gatherings.
In early Summer 2023, the barn and the field became available to buy and Brill Parish Council agreed at their June meeting to appoint a sub-committee to explore ways to purchase the barn and field - provided this was the will of the community of Brill.
Hartwell’s Barn from Brill Common
The other side of Hartwell’s Barn, facing Saunder’s Field
a little History
Hartwell’s Barn was built in the 1850s by Jack Hartwell, one time owner the The Pheasant Inn. It was in regular use to shelter livestock and store hay until 1997 when the roof collapsed in a gale. Two years later the building was purchased by Dave and Cathy Croydon who intended it could become an environmental centre. Over the next five years, the barn was restored using many of the original building materials, including ironstone and bricks and roof tiles made with clay dug from Brill Common and fired in local kilns. The work was mainly funded by grant from DEFRA on the condition the restored barn was used as an environmental education centre for a period of 10 years (after which unrestricted ownership would revert to the Croydons). BEG was created to managed the facility and the barn was officially opened in April 2005.
The adjacent Saunder’s Field has been used as grazing pasture for centuries. It was originally part of the Royal Hunting Forest of Bernwode. After Charles I decommissioned the Forest in 1632, Brill Common was given to the people of Brill in compensation for the loss of forest rights whilst the tract of land between Brill Common and Touchbridge was divided into three fields and passed to cottagers in the village. Saunder’s Field is one of those fields. The steeply sloping field contains a small outdoor seating area but is not currently used for any agricultural purpose. There is a splendid veteran sycamore adjacent to the gate onto Brill Common.
what’s happened so far
July 2023 The Parish Council sub-committee met several times to consider options. One of these options necessitated an Extraordinary Meeting of Brill Parish Council. Productive conversations were had with the owners of Hartwell Barn, Brill Environment Group (BEG), The Fat Daddies, and The Brill Society (TBS) and they took advice from Elaine Hassell of the Haddenham & Waddesdon Community Boards and a co-ordinator of Oakley’s successful purchase of a significant village asset. In the middle of the month, the committee were offered the free services of a professional advisor in fund-raising and grant-application, thanks to the Plunkett Foundation, experts in the support of community businesses. The sub-committee considered a range of funding methods and opportunities, including (but not limited to):
Community Ownership Fund
Community Benefit Society
FCC Community Action Fund
The Rothschild Foundation
A Public Works Loan
Private donations
Click to read July’s special edition of the Parish Council’s e-newsletter
Preparations were made for a public meeting early in August. Posters were displayed on village notice boards and information was posted on the BPC&C website and social media. Fliers were delivered to every house in Brill Village and on North and South Hills. Read the special edition of the Parish Council’s e-newsletter to find out more.
August 2023
The public meeting on Saturday August 5th was attended by around 100 residents and was lively, positive and generally good-humoured. After nearly two hours debate, the consensus was in favour of Hartwell’s Barn & Saunder’s Field being purchased for the community - and for the Parish Council to continue to take the lead on this process. Read the full report.
September 2023
After lots of behind-the-scenes activity, the Parish Council and The Brill Society released the following message on September 26th:
As most are aware, the opportunity to purchase Hartwell’s Barn and Saunders Field was offered to the Parish Council (PC) several months ago. The barn and Field are nestled on the edge of the Common in a hallow, a hidden gem full of beautiful flora and fauna. The barn is currently a landscape interpretation centre and has been used to inspire and educate young and old about our local biodiversity. The site has also been home to a variety of outdoor performances, including the annual Midsummer Music, the melodic sound of sweet vocals and soulful guitar floating on the summer evening breeze.
When the opportunity arose, the PC were keen to preserve this area for the village, but we needed to first see if the village felt the same way, and so the village meeting in August was agreed. The turnout was fantastic – thank you to all who attended and to those who emailed their opinions as well. There were a lot of differing opinions - some felt the PC should buy it, some felt the PC shouldn’t add to their assets at this time – an overwhelming amount felt that the site should be protected and preserved in one way or another.
We listened to all of the feedback and set about investigating avenues by which we might be able to secure the funds to purchase the site. We sought advice from the County Council, the community board, other Parish Councils, independent advisors, and involved local groups such as Brill Environment Group, The Brill Society and the Fat Daddies.
It became apparent that to move forward in the time available, the PC could not do this alone, and thus the partnership with The Brill Society was born. The Brill Society are a registered charity, governed by the Charity Commission. The Brill Society are able to claim Gift Aid on all qualifying donations and have access to different funding streams than the PC.
The Brill Society and Brill Parish Council will work cooperatively to raise the funds and when the time comes to complete purchase, we will own the site 50/50. Once purchased, a Trust will be set up to manage the site.
Brill Parish Council and The Brill Society both want what is best for the village and we both agree that securing Hartwell’s Barn and Saunders Field in perpetuity for the community is in the village’s best interest. We also feel that by going about it this way, we stand the best chance of safeguarding the future of the site.
If you are interested in getting involved with the fundraising committee, or with helping at events, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
If you'd like to donate to the project, we'd love to hear from you.
Please ‘stay tuned’ and watch this space because there’s plenty of exciting news on this fundraising project to come!
Read the Memorandum of Understanding signed September 21st 2023 by Brill Parish Council and The Brill Society.
October 2023
The newly formed Hartwell’s Barn & Saunder’s Field Project Team comprising members of BPC, TBS, FAT Daddies, BEG and other supporters designed and hand-delivered this postcard to all Brill residents, launching the fundraising initiative. Note that £35k haas already been pledged. Read questions posed by residents and responses made by the team.
November 2023
Update as it appeared in the Brill Parish Council November newsletter:
Once purchased, this special place would be made available for use by all sections of the community. Popular cultural events such as Midsummer Music and theatre productions would restart and, in the longer term, the barn could be improved so it is a suitable venue for workshops preserving and passing on traditional skills and heritage crafts. Saunder’s Field would form a beautiful extension to the Common, perfect for peaceful contemplation of the natural worl
This new village resource would be managed by an independent Trust, with representatives from The Brill Society, Brill Parish Council and the community. It will be self-supporting; no money from local taxation would be used (or has been used to date).
Thank you to everyone who has already donated or pledged to the appeal. We are more than a third of the way to our target of £150k and donations are still coming in. This month we are opening the appeal to local businesses.
If you run a local business, we would be delighted to recognise your donation on future publicity material - and add your company name to a permanent commemorative plaque in Hartwell’s Barn. Please get in touch!
View over Saunder’s Field and across to Muswell Hill
Top of Saunder’s Field