Post by SidW on May 3, 2009 20:15:25 GMT -5
Member of the family has just bought an early 19th c. farmhouse. The land was disposed
of separately but there's enough left to have fun with. The financial crisis meant there was
virtually no opposition to push the price out of range - especially no horse-owners looking
for somewhere to turn into a stud or Germans or Danes looking for weekend places.
Viewed from the back, house on left (1960s or 1970s yellow brick covering the original
wooden facade, cellar exposed on this side owing to the sloping ground), to the right
recent tractor shed and garage, in the background the original brick cowshed with large doors to
admit haywain for unloading to the hayloft. Would you say cowshed for for such a
substantial structure? When does a cowshed become a byre, if ever?
Detail of cowshed brick wall and windows.
Interior of the cowshed, places for nine beasts who would spend all the winter in here.
Chains for tethering the animals.
Lock handle, cowshed door
Grafitti in the cellar. For a period of about 100 years, all the farms in the village were obliged
to maintain billets and stables for soldiers (cavalry) when they were training on the common.
The grafitti is reputed to two such soldiers. Note the thickness of the cellar walls. The attic
of the house was originally the granary and thresshing floor.
Thanks to the cavalry using the common, the village escaped the national land reform
that was imposed in mid 19th c. Formerly, all farm buildings were built together in the
village with their land spread out here and there depending on inheritance, marriage etc
The reform scattered the farms all over the countryside and apportioned one
continuous piece of land to each. So this is one of a very small number of villages that
still retain their original character.
A stream runs across the garden behind the house. The banks are protected against erosion
by stone walls like this. These would have been maintained very carefully in the past, a
skill that has now been lost.
A picturesque scene, but only thanks to negligence. Trees have been allowed to take root on
the bank of the stream, pushing the retaining wall out, finally tipping the stones into the water,
causing a blockage and pretty waterfalls, but also cutting off power to any waterwheel somewhere
downstream. A hundred years ago, the sapplings would have been ripped out immediately.
of separately but there's enough left to have fun with. The financial crisis meant there was
virtually no opposition to push the price out of range - especially no horse-owners looking
for somewhere to turn into a stud or Germans or Danes looking for weekend places.
Viewed from the back, house on left (1960s or 1970s yellow brick covering the original
wooden facade, cellar exposed on this side owing to the sloping ground), to the right
recent tractor shed and garage, in the background the original brick cowshed with large doors to
admit haywain for unloading to the hayloft. Would you say cowshed for for such a
substantial structure? When does a cowshed become a byre, if ever?
Detail of cowshed brick wall and windows.
Interior of the cowshed, places for nine beasts who would spend all the winter in here.
Chains for tethering the animals.
Lock handle, cowshed door
Grafitti in the cellar. For a period of about 100 years, all the farms in the village were obliged
to maintain billets and stables for soldiers (cavalry) when they were training on the common.
The grafitti is reputed to two such soldiers. Note the thickness of the cellar walls. The attic
of the house was originally the granary and thresshing floor.
Thanks to the cavalry using the common, the village escaped the national land reform
that was imposed in mid 19th c. Formerly, all farm buildings were built together in the
village with their land spread out here and there depending on inheritance, marriage etc
The reform scattered the farms all over the countryside and apportioned one
continuous piece of land to each. So this is one of a very small number of villages that
still retain their original character.
A stream runs across the garden behind the house. The banks are protected against erosion
by stone walls like this. These would have been maintained very carefully in the past, a
skill that has now been lost.
A picturesque scene, but only thanks to negligence. Trees have been allowed to take root on
the bank of the stream, pushing the retaining wall out, finally tipping the stones into the water,
causing a blockage and pretty waterfalls, but also cutting off power to any waterwheel somewhere
downstream. A hundred years ago, the sapplings would have been ripped out immediately.
