Outbuilding

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Etching of a Canadian barn (1888) Illustration from Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts By Ontario. Dept. of Agriculture 1888 01.jpg
Etching of a Canadian barn (1888)

An outbuilding, sometimes called an accessory building [1] or a dependency, is a building that is part of a residential or agricultural complex but detached from the main sleeping and eating areas. Outbuildings are generally used for some practical purpose, rather than decoration or purely for leisure (such as a pool house or a tree house), although luxury greenhouses such as orangeries or ferneries may also be considered outbuildings. This article is limited to buildings that would typically serve one property, separate from community-scale structures such as gristmills, water towers, fire towers, or parish granaries. Outbuildings are typically detached from the main structure, so places like wine cellars, root cellars and cheese caves may or may not be termed outbuildings depending on their placement. A buttery, on the other hand, is never an outbuilding because by definition is it is integrated into the main structure.

Contents

Separating these work spaces from the main home "removed heat, obnoxious odors, and offending vermin" and decreased the risk of house fires and food-borne illnesses. [2] The study of historical outbuildings also offers information about the lives of workers otherwise excluded from the history of a place, since one possible purpose of an outbuilding was to reinforce class boundaries. [3]

Outbuildings are typically constructed in a vernacular architectural style. [3] Outbuildings can be valuable resources for architectural historians as they may "offer insight unavailable in traditional documentary sources." [3] Architectural historian William Tishler argues that in addition to documenting outbuildings, researchers need to inspect attics and basements "because it's there that you see how things are put together." [4]

Researchers studying detached kitchens in Wiltshire identified some common characteristics of the outbuildings: non-standard floor plans, no large windows, location near the main house, footprint smaller than main house, and little or no interior ornamentation. [5]

Good farming and good outbuildings are invariably associated.

Thomas Shaw, editor of Canadian Live Stock Journal (1888) [6]

Types

Barn subtypes

Barns have been classified by their function, structure, location, or other features. Sometimes the same building falls into multiple categories.

  • Apple barn or fruit barn – for the storage of fruit crops
  • Bank barn – A multilevel building built into a banking so the upper floor is accessible to a wagon, sometimes accessed by a bridge or ramp.
  • Bastle house a defensive structure to guard against border reivers with accommodation on the lower floor for livestock.
  • Bridge barn or covered bridge barn – general terms for barns accessed by a bridge rather than a ramp.
  • Boô – A sheep-barn and dwelling in the Netherlands, seasonal or sometimes year round.
  • Pennsylvania barn (U.S.) of which there are sub-categories such as standard and sweitzer types. Also known as forebay or porch barns.
  • Cantilever barn – a type of log crib barn with cantilevered upper floors which developed in Appalachia (U.S.A.)
  • Combination barn – found throughout England, especially in areas of pastoral farming and the standard barn type in America. This general term means the barns were used for both crop storage and as a byre to house animals. [14]
  • Crib barn – Horizontal log structures with up to four cribs (assemblies of crossing timbers) found primarily in the southern U.S.A.
  • Drying barns for drying crops in Finland and Sweden are called riihi and ria, respectively.
  • New World Dutch Barn – A barn type in the U.S. Also see Dutch barn (U.K.) in Other farm buildings section below.
  • Field barn – An outbuilding located in a field further afield than the main cluster of buildings that constitute a farmstead
  • New England barn a common style of barn found in rural New England and in the U.S.
  • English barn (U.S.), also called a Yankee or Connecticut barn – A widespread barn type in the U.S.
  • Granary – to store grain after it is threshed, some barns contain a room called a granary, some barns like a rice barn blur the line between a barn and granary.
  • Gothic arch barn, has profile shaped as a Gothic arch, which became feasible to be formed by laminated members
  • Ground stable barn, a barn with space for livestock at ground level
  • Housebarn, also called a byre-dwelling – A combined living space and barn, relatively common in old Europe but rare in North America. Also, longhouses were housebarns.
  • Pole barn – a simple structure that consists of poles embedded in the ground to support a roof, with or without exterior walls. The pole barn lacks a conventional foundation, thus greatly reducing construction costs. Traditionally used to house livestock, hay or equipment.
  • Potato barn or potato house– A semi-subterranean or two story building for storage of potatoes or sweet potatoes.
  • Prairie barn – A general term for barns in the Western U.S.
  • Rice barn and the related winnowing barn
  • Round barn, built in a round shape the term often is generalized to the include polygonal barn and octagonal barn
  • Swing beam barn – A rare barn type in part of the U.S. designed for threshing with animals walking around a pole held by a swing beam inside the barn.
  • Tobacco barn – for drying of tobacco leaves
  • Tithe barn – a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing the tithes — a tenth of the farm's produce which had to be given to the church
  • Threshing barn – built with a threshing floor for the processing and storage of cereals, to keep them in dry conditions. Characterised by large double doors in the centre of one side, a smaller one on the other, and storage for cereal harvest or unprocessed on either side. In England the grain was beaten from the crop by flails and then separated from the husks by winnowing between these doors. The design of these typically remained unchanged between the 12th and 19th centuries. The large doors allow for a horse wagon to be driven through; the smaller ones allow for the sorting of sheep and other stock in the spring and summer. [15]

See also

Derivative extravagance

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barn</span> Agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace

A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain. As a result, the term barn is often qualified e.g. tobacco barn, dairy barn, cow house, sheep barn, potato barn. In the British Isles, the term barn is restricted mainly to storage structures for unthreshed cereals and fodder, the terms byre or shippon being applied to cow shelters, whereas horses are kept in buildings known as stables. In mainland Europe, however, barns were often part of integrated structures known as byre-dwellings. In addition, barns may be used for equipment storage, as a covered workplace, and for activities such as threshing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granary</span> Storage building for grain

A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals and from floods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farmhouse</span> Chief dwellings attached to farms

A farmhouse is a building that serves as the primary quarters in a rural or agricultural setting. Historically, farmhouses were often combined with space for animals called a housebarn. Other farmhouses may be connected to one or more barns, built to form a courtyard, or with each farm building separate from each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Root cellar</span> Structure for storing vegetables, fruits, nuts or other foods

A root cellar, fruit cellar or earth cellar is a structure, usually underground or partially underground, used for storage of vegetables, fruits, nuts, or other foods. Its name reflects the traditional focus on root crops stored in an underground cellar, which is still often true; but the scope is wider, as a wide variety of foods can be stored for weeks to months, depending on the crop and conditions, and the structure may not always be underground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Threshing floor</span> Agricultural site

Threshing (thrashing) was originally "to tramp or stamp heavily with the feet" and was later applied to the act of separating out grain by the feet of people or oxen and still later with the use of a flail. A threshing floor is of two main types: 1) a specially flattened outdoor surface, usually circular and paved, or 2) inside a building with a smooth floor of earth, stone or wood where a farmer would thresh the grain harvest and then winnow it. Animal and steam powered threshing machines from the nineteenth century onward made threshing floors obsolete. The outdoor threshing floor was either owned by the entire village or by a single family, and it was usually located outside the village in a place exposed to the wind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connected farm</span> Architectural term

A connected farm is an architectural design common in the New England region of the United States, and England and Wales in the United Kingdom. North American connected farms date back to the 17th century, while their British counterparts have also existed for several centuries. New England connected farms are characterized by a farm house, kitchen, barn, or other structures connected in a rambling fashion. This style evolved from carrying out farm work while remaining sheltered from winter weather. In the United Kingdom there are four distinct types of connected farmsteads, all dissimilar to the New England style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank barn</span>

A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn noted for its accessibility, at ground level, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill or bank, the upper and the lower floors could be accessed from ground level, one area at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom. The second level of a bank barn could also be accessed from a ramp if a hill was unavailable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crib barn</span>

Crib barns were a popular type of barn found throughout the U.S. south and southeast regions. Crib barns were especially ubiquitous in the Appalachian and Ozark Mountain states of North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, East Oklahoma and Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch barn</span>

Dutch barn is the name given to markedly different types of barns in the United States and Canada, and in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Dutch barns represent the oldest and rarest types of barns. There are relatively few—probably fewer than 600—of these barns still intact. Common features of these barns include a core structure composed of a steep gabled roof, supported by purlin plates and anchor beam posts, the floor and stone piers below. Little of the weight is supported by the curtain wall, which could be removed without affecting the stability of the structure. Large beams of pine or oak bridge the center aisle for animals to provide room for threshing. Entry was through paired doors on the gable ends with a pent roof over them, and smaller animal doors at the corners of the same elevations. The Dutch Barn has a square profile, unlike the more rectangular English or German barns. In the United Kingdom a structure called a Dutch barn is a relatively recent agricultural development meant specifically for hay and straw storage; most examples were built from the 19th century. British Dutch barns represent a type of pole barn in common use today. Design styles range from fixed roof to adjustable roof; some Dutch barns have honeycombed brick walls, which provide ventilation and are decorative as well. Still other British Dutch barns may be found with no walls at all, much like American pole barns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maden Hall Farm</span> Historic house in Tennessee, United States

Maden Hall Farm, also called the Fermanagh-Ross Farm, is a historic farm near the U.S. city of Greeneville, Tennessee. Established in the 1820s, the farmstead consists of a farmhouse and six outbuildings situated on the remaining 17 acres (6.9 ha) of what was once a 300-acre (120 ha) antebellum farm. Maden Hall has been designated a century farm and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housebarn</span> Building that is a combination of a house and a barn

A housebarn is a building that is a combination of a house and a barn under the same roof. Most types of housebarn also have room for livestock quarters. If the living quarters are only combined with a byre, whereas the cereals are stored outside the main building, the house is called a byre-dwelling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Log building</span> Building constructed from wooden logs

Log buildings and structures can be categorized as historic and modern. A diverse selection of their forms and styles with examples of architectural elements is discussed in the following articles:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Seitaniemi Housebarn</span> Historic house in Minnesota, United States

The Alex Seitaniemi Housebarn is a rare surviving example of a log housebarn constructed by Finnish Americans, located in Waasa Township, Minnesota, United States. It was built in two stages from about 1907 to about 1913. The housebarn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 for its national significance in the themes of architecture and European ethnic heritage. It was nominated for being an example of a rare building type and for embodying the settlement and traditional log architecture of rural St. Louis County's Finnish American farmers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Dreibelbis Farm</span> United States historic place

The Joel Dreibelbis Farm is an historic American farm complex and national historic district that are located in Richmond Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England barn</span>

The New England Barn was the most common style of barn built in most of the 19th century in rural New England and variants are found throughout the United States. This style barn superseded the ”three-bay barn” in several important ways. The most obvious difference is the location of the barn doors on the gable-end(s) rather than the sidewall(s). The New England and three bay barns were used similarly as multipurpose farm buildings but the New England barns are typically larger and have a basement. Culturally the New England Barn represents a shift from subsistence farming to commercial farming thus are larger and show significant changes in American building methods and technologies. Most were used as dairy barns but some housed teams of oxen which are generally called teamster barns. Sometimes these barns are simply called “gable fronted” and “gable fronted bank barns” but these terms are also used for barns other than the New England style barn such as in Maryland and Virginia which is not exactly the same style as found in New England. A similar style found in parts of the American mid-west and south is called a transverse frame barn or transverse crib barn.

The John and Katharine Tunkun Podjun Farm is a farm located at 9582 East 1 Mile Road in Ellsworth, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stahly–Nissley–Kuhns Farm</span> United States historic place

The Stahly–Nissley–Kuhns Farm is a historic farm located at Nappanee, Elkhart County, Indiana. Nappanee was established in 1874. The Farm is part of Amish Acres, which includes the old farmstead and additional structures brought in to show Amish life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Warren Two Rivers House Site and Peter McDougall Farmstead</span> United States historic place

The William Warren Two Rivers House Site and Peter McDougall Farmstead is a historic farmstead near Royalton, Minnesota. The site was built in 1847, and was where William Whipple Warren wrote his recounting of the history of the Ojibwe people, titled History of the Ojibways based upon Traditions and Oral Statements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field barn</span> Type of agricultural building

A field barn is an outbuilding located in a field, some distance from farmer's residence or the main cluster of buildings that constitute a farmstead. 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. Rather than "commuting" back and forth to the field with livestock, tools, or harvests, the field barn allowed on-site storage, as well as providing shelter for herds during inclement weather or when pregnant cattle or sheep needed respite and a clean place to labor. 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.

References

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  2. Linebaugh, Donald W. (1994). ""All the Annoyances and Inconveniences of the Country": Environmental Factors in the Development of Outbuildings in the Colonial Chesapeake". Winterthur Portfolio. 29 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1086/496641. ISSN   0084-0416. JSTOR   1181448. S2CID   162285380.
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  13. Margueron, Jean-Claude (December 2000). "A Stroll through the Palace". Near Eastern Archaeology. 63 (4): 205–207. doi:10.2307/3210786. ISSN   1094-2076. JSTOR   3210786. S2CID   155354601.
  14. Marshall, Jeffrey L., and Willis M. Rivinus. Barns of bucks county. S.l.: Heritage Conservancy & The Bucks County Audubin Society, 2007. Print.
  15. Barn Guide:Traditional Farm Buildings in South Hams: Their Adaption and Reuse Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading