Today was one of our monthly training sessions. A time of clean clothes and comfy chairs, rather than muddy trousers and tools; a morning of intellectual, rather than physical, challenge. Six of us were able to attend this session that was given by Sally Childes (the AONB Heritage Officer).
It was a really interesting input which gave us an introduction to the various types of barns that are commonly seen in Nidderdale. Sally outlined their features - the different roofs, the types of stonework, the various parts of combination barns etc. One type of building that none of us had heard of before was the 'hennery piggery' - a small barn where the pigs were kept downstairs and the hens upstairs. Apparently the warmth generated by the pigs encouraged the hens to lay their eggs. Perhaps this is an adjustment we should all consider for our own houses in these times of rising fuel prices!
It was a session that opened our eyes to things that we had passed many times but never really thought about, or had noticed but never followed up. Even better - it has opened up the possibility of some additional voluntary work via joining in with the 'Traditional Farm Buildings Survey Project'. Sally is also going to organise a spring-time field trip for us to see some of the interesting barns in the area.
Thanks to Sally for this session!
If anyone is interested in reading about the farm buildings of Nidderdale then you can download the document we were given by clicking here.
Ros (E)
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