Summary

Hoghouse, C18 or early C19.

Description

MATERIALS: local rubble slatestone with Westmorland slate roof laid in diminishing courses.

PLAN: a rectangular building built into a gentle east-west slope; it has two levels with separate external access to each.

EXTERIOR: a simple pitched roof structure of dry stone construction situated in a remote location. The main north elevation has prominent quoins at its left end and there is evidence that the upper parts of the walls may have been raised or rebuilt in the early C20. A central entrance with a stone lintel gives access to the upper level hayloft. A rough partly blocked small, square opening is immediately to the left, and further to the left, there is a second square opening. At the lower west end of the elevation there is a second door with a stone lintel giving entry to the lower level room with a ventilation slit to the left. The crow-stepped east gable has a central rectangular opening used as a pitching door. The rear elevation and west gable are blind, with the exception of a triangular ventilator at the apex of the latter.

INTERIOR: the upper level hayloft has a single tie beam roof truss with angle struts and double purlins. The western third has a full width, slightly raised manger thought to be of more recent origin, and below this is the lower level room with an earth floor used to shelter the hogs.

History

This building is a purpose built sheep house known as a hoghouse, constructed on the fells to house hoggarts or hogs (yearling sheep) during the winter months; they generally comprise a low-ceilinged room to house the hogs on the lower level with an upper level hayloft. They were usually located in one of the higher hayfields near the fell boundary. It is a regionally specific building and found generally in parts of the Pennines, Dales and the Lake District. This example is thought to be C18 in date; its very simple form and vernacular construction is consistent with such a date as is the fact that it formed part of Howe Green Farm which has C17 origins. The building is present on the First Edition 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map of 1861, and all subsequent editions up the present day depict the building with an unchanged footprint. These small buildings fell out of use at an uncertain date when the practice of keeping sheep inside during the winter months was abandoned. In some areas this occurred as early as the late C18.

Reasons for Listing

This hoghouse of C18 or early C19 date is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural: an intact hoghouse in the local vernacular with a measure of architectural elaboration illustrated by the crow-stepped gable and the treatment of the openings;
* Rarity: a good example of an uncommon and increasingly rare form of dedicated sheep housing;
* Date: as an C18 or early C19 hoghouse, it sits firmly in the period when there is a presumption in favour of listing all buildings;
* Original layout: the hoghouse retains its original two-level layout and its original form and function are easily readable;
* Regional diversity and character: a farm building type, characteristic of the inaccessible parts of the Pennines and Lake District which illustrates the diversity of past farming practice in England.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26676376

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6