The Great Barn sits in the Teign Valley at Higher Ashton, about 8 miles from the middle of Exeter but feeling further from anywhere. The barn itself dates to the 15th century and stands within the Place Barton Estate, which has been a family home for more than 25 years — and it shows in the details, down to the gardening team who keep the lawns immaculate. There are 120 private acres around it, with the valley opening out below and woodland climbing the slopes behind.
The restored barns are the reason people fall for the place: soaring roof timbers, high stone walls and dramatic lighting that turns the whole thing golden by evening. The Great Barn takes up to 198 guests for dining and around 250 standing, with the West Barn and the Roundhouse alongside it for ceremonies, drinks or a change of scene. You can marry inside the barn, out in the gardens, or in the church a short walk from the estate, and the courtyard between the buildings — strung with festoon lights and equipped with a pizza oven and fire pit — is where a surprising amount of the best part of the day happens. There is a heated outdoor pool too, which is not a sentence you get to write about many barn venues.
Food comes from the in-house chefs, who build menus around seasonal, locally sourced produce and will happily do anything from a plated three courses to a long sharing feast; you can bring your own drink for a per-head service charge. The 3 cottages on the estate — Place, which is Grade II listed and includes a bridal apartment, St Nectan overlooking the rose garden, and Figgy Cottage with its walled garden — sleep 30 between them. The booking runs from Friday morning to Sunday evening, and for that whole stretch the estate is yours alone: no shared spaces, no other weddings, nobody you did not invite.
Where the band plays
A barn of this age and height is close to the ideal room for live music. Stone, timber and volume above the players give a band natural weight and warmth, and there is nothing soft to swallow the bottom end, so even a modest four-piece sounds bigger than it is. With a couple of hundred people in the room there is plenty of reason to go larger still. The flip side is the one every good barn shares: the same qualities that make it sound glorious inside also make it carry across open country, so it is worth asking directly whether there is a sound limiter and, if so, what level it is set to. Venues answer readily when asked early, and the answer shapes what an act brings.
How the evening runs
The estate is licensed to midnight and most evenings here make full use of it, though some dates have landed at 11pm and one at an 11.30pm music finish, so it is worth getting your own time confirmed rather than assumed. Practically, Exeter is the most convenient base in the county for suppliers and most acts treat the Teign Valley as an easy run rather than a trek, and there is stewarded parking on site with room to unload close to the barn.
Bands available in Devon and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Devon.
- Devon Wedding Bands
- Events Bands in Devon
- Tribute Acts in Devon
- Devon Wedding DJs
- Corporate Entertainment in Devon
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.