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Archaeology - Talks - Walks - Cultural heritage Vernacular buildings - Historic documents
Festival of British Archaelogy Poster Displays
In early 2011, UWHG members began the fieldwork for a project launched the previous year, the study and recording of all the traditional farm buildings within the Kettlewell with Starbotton parish boundary
Having carried out a desktop analysis of what was recorded on the first edition of the local Ordnance Survey map (from the early 1850’s) the follow-up series in 1909 and a mid 20th century version, it was estimated there were at least 150 fieldbarns in the parish.
Confirmation of the existence of certain buildings was reinforced from present day mapping and by checking more questionable locations through the aerial photography of Google Earth.
The isolated fieldbarns or ‘outhouses’ as the early records identified them, were the strongest and most obvious indicators of the changing agricultural patterns within the valley of the Upper Wharfe during the last half-century.
Frozen into the landscape and with many of the buildings ‘frozen in time’, these buildings reflected the earlier patterns of milk cows living in fields, distant from the farm locations and wintering within the building, fed from the hay gathered from the adjoining field(s).
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For a guide to the names used to describe the parts of field barns please see here
Click an image to view the display panels - then navigate forwards and backwards with the < > arrows
Panels 1 - 4
Panel 1: Setting the scene
Panel 2: Laith barns
Panel 3: Barn construction
Panel 4: Change over time
Panels 5 - 8
Panel 5: Barn roofing
Panel 6: Barn materials
Panel 7: Recording the evidence
Panel 8: Interpretation
Acknowledgments
The Upper Wharfedale Heritage Group gratefully acknowledges the support of the land-owners and farmers in the Kettlewell with Starbotton parish, for without their help, interest and permission this project would not have been possible.
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Our thanks go to Arnold Pacey and Alison Armstrong for their technical expertise and constant assistance, to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority for help and interest and to the people of the two villages for their encouragement and the provision of additional supporting material.
We acknowledge the kind assistance of the staff at the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, the Northallerton Record Office, the West Yorkshire Archive Service, the National Trust Management Team at Malham and the Yorkshire Vernacular Building Study Group.
Grateful thanks are given to the following members of the Upper Wharfedale Heritage Group who have been heavily involved with the fieldwork and research for the Kettlewell with Starbotton traditional farm building project.
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Namely: Alison Armstrong, Vera Brearey, Pat Carroll, Phil Carroll, Peter Gallagher, Jane Lunnon, Lynne Primmer, Glenys Prince, Ruth Spencer, Ann Thake, Iain Thake and to others who assisted.
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We value the kind support of the Lakeland Leisure Estates management team at Long Ashes Park for making their premises available for our annual display.
We would also like to thank Pat and Phil Carroll for designing and creating the display.