Field barn near Langcliff Cross, UK

A field barn is an outbuilding located in a field, some distance ("further afield") from farmer's residence or the main cluster of buildings that constitute a farmstead.[1] Field barns were necessary when arable fields or valuable pastures were located some distance from a village or the residences of the agricultural workers who tended the fields.[2] Rather than "commuting" back and forth to the field with livestock, tools, or harvests, the field barn allowed on-site storage (usually of straw, hay, and additional feed), as well as providing shelter for herds during inclement weather or when pregnant cattle or sheep needed respite and a clean place to labor.[2] Field barns were also used for the drying and curing of hay, which protected the nutritional content of the crop better than drying and curing in the field.[3]

In English agricultural history, many farms ended up "pie-shaped" (in order to connect the farm to the central village) and field barns were constructed at the distant wide end.[4] Early examples in Staffordshire were essentially just a shed, those latterly built often had a foldyard and an additional shelter shed.[5] Field barn construction began to decline with the rise of mechanized threshing.[5]

Field barns in England

Stone field barn ruin in England

Historic England have been mapping field barns and outfarms across England and have noted that 72% have disappeared since 1900. They have confirmed the significance of these structures noting that:[1]

  • Examples dating back to the 18th century or earlier are very rare
  • Some field barns and outfarms may provide evidence of former farmsteads where the farmhouse has been demolished following the amalgamation of farms.
  • Field barns and outfarms have particularly vulnerable to dereliction once they are no longer in use.

Some county-based research projects have been carried out by the County Councils:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lake, Jeremy (2014). National Farmsteads Character Statement. London: Historic England.
  2. 1 2 Coulthard, Sally (2021-11-11). The Barn: The Lives, Landscape and Lost Ways of an Old Yorkshire Farm. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-80024-087-2.
  3. ↑ Technical Bulletin. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1953. p. 35.
  4. ↑ Hart, John Fraser (1998-04-10). The Rural Landscape. JHU Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-8018-5717-1.
  5. 1 2 Peters, J. E. C. (1969). The Development of Farm Buildings in Western Lowland Staffordshire Up to 1880. Manchester University Press. p. 31.
  6. ↑ "Suffolk Heritage Explorer". heritage.suffolk.gov.uk. Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
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