It is on the northern edge of the village of Great Coxwell, which is about 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Swindon in neighbouring Wiltshire.

The barn was built about 1292 for the Cistercian Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire, which had held the manor of Great Coxwell since 1205.

In the main part of the barn are six pairs of posts, meaning that it has east and west aisles and seven bays.

The architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner considered the interior to be the finest of any barn in England.

In 1540 the Crown sold the manor of Great Coxwell to a local landowner, William Morys (or Morris).

South of the barn a brick-built cart shed with a first-floor hay-loft or granary was added to the farmyard.

[citation needed] From 1871 William Morris (1834–96) rented Kelmscott Manor, 6 miles (10 km) north of Great Coxwell.

[citation needed] Ernest Cook (1865–1955) acquired numerous estates including Coleshill.

Great Coxwell can be reached by Stagecoach West Gold bus route 66 from Swindon, Oxford and Faringdon.