Three Farming in Protected Landscapes-funded heritage building restorations in the Howardian Hills National Landscape have preserved centuries of agricultural heritage, revived traditional building skills, and secured working futures for Howardian Hills farm buildings.

The Howardian Hills National Landscape is home to historic farm buildings that tell the story of agriculture in this part of North Yorkshire across the centuries. Three recent FiPL-funded restoration projects have secured the future of some of these important structures – preserving rare joinery, reviving traditional building techniques, and training the next generation of craftspeople in skills that might otherwise have been lost.

Hovingham Spa Barn – FiPL grant of £46,829

What is now known as Hovingham Spa Barn was once the centrepiece of an agricultural processing complex dating from the age of high farming in the mid-nineteenth century. The building was designed to allow sheaves of corn to be unloaded directly onto a threshing floor, winnowed (chaff and grain separated), and then passed up to the granary before being dropped through trap doors into the cart shed below – a vivid example of the early industrialisation of agriculture. With the advent of machinery, much of the complex fell away, and by the 1950s only the barn remained. Water ingress had left the building deteriorating rapidly.

Roof and masonry repairs have now preserved the building for future generations. The restoration also revealed the significance of what survives inside: high-grade joinery work, reused timbers, and evidence of adze use locally well into the mid-nineteenth century – a rare survival that has contributed to a better understanding of agricultural change in the Howardian Hills. Hovingham Estate now has the opportunity to continue the building’s use in agriculture or to diversify into educational use.

Foxfoot Hay Field Barn – FiPL grant of £40,158

Listed as mid-fifteenth century, the barn at Foxfoot Hay has been in continuous agricultural use for almost 600 years. Failure of the roof structure had led to serious structural instability, putting the building’s future at risk. The restoration brought together local expertise in an innovative way: a local building contractor retrained in the use of lime mortars, and the local sawmill reproduced the unique roofing lath needed to match the historic fabric of the building. The resident Aberdeen Angus herd has now returned, safe in their field barn for several generations to come.

For Paul Robson, the owner of Foxfoot Hay Field Barn, the support received from Howardian Hill National Landscape team was invaluable. Nick Burrows, Howardian Hills National Landscape team’s FiPL officer worked with Paul to develop the plan to restore the barn. 

Situated on a popular walking route, the barn can once more be admired by the passing public, adding to the sense of place. Paul could not have carried out this work alone but wanted to retain the building in agricultural use. By training both contractor and supplier in traditional building techniques and materials, the project has created an important resource for similar work elsewhere in the area – ensuring these skills remain understood and accessible locally. 

Paul says: ‘The working relationship we have with the National Landscape team instilled trust this project was possible, and on-the-ground support was always available. It is wonderful dealing with real people who live and breathe our area and understand the challenges we face rather than a call centre in a main hub within a city.’

Rose Cottage Farm Byre – FiPL grant of £70,951

Subsidence had compromised the structure of a stone-built field shelter to the north of Rose Cottage Farm and without intervention the building faced collapse. FiPL funding allowed the subsidence to be checked and the structure to be reroofed, saving a rare example of traditional stone field shelter for future generations.

The restoration also had a significant skills legacy. Several young apprentices trained in traditional building techniques during the work, and those skills are now being put to good use across the north of England – securing employment and broadening the traditional skills base available for similar projects. For the farmer, the restored building offers the opportunity to continue its use as an animal shelter or to diversify the farm’s operations and open up new income streams.

Taken together, these three projects demonstrate what targeted investment in historic farm buildings can achieve – not only preserving structures of real architectural and historical significance, but supporting working farms, training craftspeople, and maintaining the distinctive character of the Howardian Hills landscape.