A gin gang, wheelhouse, roundhouse or horse-engine house, is a structure built to enclose a
horse engine, usually circular but sometimes square or octagonal, attached to a
threshing barn. Most were built in
England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The threshing barn held a small
threshing machine
A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of farm equipment that threshes grain, that is, it removes the seeds from the stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out.
Before such machines were developed, threshi ...
which was connected to the gin gang via wooden
gears,
drive shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connec ...
s and
drive belt, and was powered by a horse which walked round and round inside the gin gang.
Operation and structure
The ''gin'' (short for "engine") was the motive power driving a small
threshing machine
A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of farm equipment that threshes grain, that is, it removes the seeds from the stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out.
Before such machines were developed, threshi ...
, and the horse did the ''gang'', or ''going''.
The gin gang was always attached to the main threshing barn, where the gin was situated. It was almost always of one storey and it could be circular, polygonal or square. There was a hole for a drive−shaft or drive−belt, linking it with the threshing barn.
The gin was connected by
cogs to a vertical spindle. The spindle was connected to a horizontal arrangement including a shaft attached to a horse, which turned the spindle and powered the machine by ''ganging'' or walking round and round the cogs and vertical spindle inside the walls of the gin gang. This arrangement was necessary in locations where there was no power for a
water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucke ...
,
hence in
Wales and Ireland there is evidence of fewer gin gangs.
Gin gangs were not usually
thatched but were
stone−flagged, tiled or
pantiled, possibly because the gin damaged potential thatching straw.
Its structure tended to reflect locally available materials and hence local
vernacular building style, because railways had not generally distributed brick and slate. Building materials include thatch in
Sussex,
pantiles
The Pantiles is a Georgian colonnade in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Formerly known as "The Walks" and the (Royal) "Parade", it leads from the well that gave the town its name. The area, developed following the discov ...
in North Yorkshire,
stone tiles and
sandstone in Northumberland,
granite pillars in Devon, wooden poles and
flint in
Norfolk,
weatherboarding in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
, brick in the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to ...
, white
Magnesian Limestone in
West Yorkshire,
ironstone in
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council was ...
, and one instance of hexagonal
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
pillars salvaged from
Finchale Priory in Finchale, County Durham. Gin gangs were required to shelter the wooden gears, and not to protect the horse; hence in some places there is evidence of ''horse−walks'' or open−air horse−powered threshing machines instead.
The horse in the gin gang could also power machinery outdoors.
History and distribution
Local names for covered gin gangs were ''covered gin−house'', ''covered horse−walk'', ''enginehouse'', ''gin−case'', ''gin−gan'', ''gin−gang'', ''gin−house'', ''gin−race'', ''horse−gear'', ''
horse mill''/horse-mill, ''round−house'', ''track−shed'', ''four−wheelhouse'', ''wheel−rig'', ''wheel−shade'' and ''wheel−shed''. These are not to be confused with the uncovered ones which were called ''gin−circle'', ''ginnyring'', ''horse−course'', ''horse−gang'', ''horse−path'', ''horse−track'' and ''horse−walk''.
In Scotland, Wales, and Warwickshire a gin gang was commonly called a ''horse engine house''.
In 1976, 1,300 gin gangs were identified in
Great Britain, and a few others in
Ireland,
Denmark, the
Netherlands, and
East Germany. Most gin gangs were built from around 1785 to 1851, peaking in 1800 to 1830. The most recent ones were built in the
Isle of Wight and
Cornwall from 1845 to 1868. In the 19th century there were 575 gin gangs in Northumberland and 227 in West Cumberland, but between the 1890s and the 1960s, hundreds of these were destroyed. In the 1970s, 276 survived in Northumberland and 200 in County Durham. In the same decade a survey found most remaining gin gangs were in the north−east and south−west of England, and it was suggested that this distribution could have been affected by the 1830
Swing Riots which destroyed most threshing machines in the south−east of England. As a result of this, in the 1970s
Scotland still had 150 gin gangs,
North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...
had 800 and Cornwall had 100 remaining, but
Wiltshire and
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
had 8 between them. Conversely, the
Napoleonic Wars of 1803 to 1815 created a dearth of labour and a corresponding demand for gin gangs in Cornwall,
Devon, and
Dorset. The truly
portable horse engine was invented around 1840; this obviated the necessity for building further gin gangs.
Existing gin gangs
No gin gang remains in operation commercially; the known examples outside museums are either derelict or have been renovated as barn conversions. These are Hutton AHR,
Keys farm buildings,
Scran horse engine house,
Scran Friars Croft Dunbr,
Carsegour gingang,
Westruther gingang,
RCAHM Skildinny,
horse engine house Perth and Kinross,
Sanday,
Muggleswick gin gang,
Holbeck farmhouse,
Colton farmhouse,
Ystum Colwyn farm Meifod,
Beamish,
and Brewers House Museum.
Remnant or derelict
The surviving
Low Walworth gin gang was built around the late 18th century.
In
Northumberland examples exist in
Harlow Hill,
Hepple
Hepple is a small village and parish in rural Northumberland, west of Rothbury, which provides most of its local services. It is on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, and lies on the bank of the river Coquet, at a location which wa ...
,
Redesmouth and
Stanton. In
North Yorkshire two remain at
Burn Bridge and
Stapleton (''see Commons link below''). Scottish examples survive at St Quivox,
South Ayrshire,
at
Dunbar,
East Lothian,
and at Carsegour,
Kinross,
but the one at Westruther, Westertown in
Berwickshire
Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...
appears to have been destroyed since 1974.
The site of a former gin gang exists at Kildinny steading at
Forteviot
Forteviot ( gd, Fothair Tabhaicht) (Ordnance Survey ) is a village in Strathearn, Scotland on the south bank of the River Earn between Dunning and Perth. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross. The population in 1991 was 160.
The pre ...
in
Strathearn, Scotland.
However quite a few do survive in
Perth and Kinross,
and there is one at Tresness Farm on
Sanday in
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...
.
There is a
listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
gin gang at The Grange farmhouse at
Muggleswick
Muggleswick is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles to the west of Consett. the population was 130 at the 2001 Census reducing to 113 at the 2011 Census.
The village has a number of farms and domestic ...
in County Durham,
and there used to be one in 1979 at Holbeck farmhouse in
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 ...
.
There is an example at
Nettlecombe in
Somerset
Somerset ( , ; Archaism, archaically Somersetshire , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the so ...
.
There is an extant gin gang at Ystum Colwyn Farm,
Meifod, in
Wales.
The
Beamish Museum
Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it w ...
in County Durham contains a restored gin gang.
Another has been preserved at
Weald and Downland Open Air Museum
The Weald and Downland Living Museum (formerly known as the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum until January 2017) is an open-air museum in Singleton, West Sussex. The museum is a registered charity.
The museum covers , with over 50 historic bu ...
but is now labelled as a
horse whim for raising water, as is the one at Brewers' House Museum in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, .
Barn conversions
In
Chopwell
Chopwell is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, west of Rowlands Gill and north of Hamsterley. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 9,395.
In 1150, Bishop Pudsey granted the Manor of Chopwell to ...
in
Tyne and Wear a gin gang is part of a
barn conversion.
[Image of Chopwell gin gang barn conversion](_blank)
/ref> Another one was renovated to become holiday cottage
A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...
s in the face of local controversy at Lanchester, County Durham
Lanchester is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England, west of Durham and from Consett. It had a population at the 2011 Census of 4,054.
Although there was a small drift mine on the edge of the village which closed in the 1970s ...
. A barn conversion development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
*Photographi ...
, from a group of farm buildings known as a '' steading'' including an octagonal gin gang, was completed in 2010 at Longhorsley
Longhorsley is a village in Northumberland, England about northwest of Morpeth, and about south of Alnwick. The A697 road passes through the village linking it with Morpeth, Wooler and Coldstream in Scotland. There are 8 "Streets" in Longhorsl ...
, Northumberland. Another example survives as a barn conversion at Southstoke
Southstoke is a small village and civil parish in north east Somerset, England. In 2004 the parish council requested that the name be formally changed to South Stoke, as "this is historically the more established spelling (rather than the sin ...
, Somerset
Somerset ( , ; Archaism, archaically Somersetshire , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the so ...
.
Another recent renovation completed in January 2013 is The Wheelhouse in Barton North Yorkshire, now a holiday let.
Gin gang at Beamish Museum
Building
Home Farm at the Beamish Museum
Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it w ...
, County Durham, contains an early 19th-century, semi-octagonal gin gang with sandstone or millstone grit walls and slate roof. The renovated internal roof structure is based on a traditional space frame truss with its primary plane in line with the tie beam
A tie, strap, tie rod, eyebar, guy-wire, suspension cables, or wire ropes, are examples of linear structural components designed to resist tension. It is the opposite of a strut or column, which is designed to resist compression. Ties may be ...
(or joist), and with members fixed between king post
A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above fr ...
and rafter
A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as wooden beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof shingles, roof deck and its associate ...
s to support the semi-octagonal plan of the roof. There is one main transverse oak tie beam on which the king post of the main truss is based. The king post is in tension to prevent sagging of the horizontal tie beam, so neither the king post nor the tie beam are resting on the mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
below. The roof construction is not structurally dependent on the horse mill, or connected with it.[See images in Commons category, Gin gang and Commons category, Horse mill, or for further information contact th]
agricultural department of Beamish Museum
. There is no printed or online citation for this building.
Image:Gin gang 006.jpg, Top part of space frame truss (bottom tie beam
A tie, strap, tie rod, eyebar, guy-wire, suspension cables, or wire ropes, are examples of linear structural components designed to resist tension. It is the opposite of a strut or column, which is designed to resist compression. Ties may be ...
of truss hidden behind the mill's tie beam)
Image:Gin gang 011.jpg, View showing that roof truss and mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
are separate. Top set is roof truss; bottom set is beams supporting (hidden) main horizontal gear wheel of mill. Tie beam supporting top mill axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
pivot is just visible between roof truss and mill
Image:Gin gang 015.jpg, Massive oak drive shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connec ...
of mill passing through wall of threshing barn, supported on both sides by two heavy oak beams fixed between the mill's own tie beam and the threshing barn wall
Image:Gin gang 026.jpg, Inside threshing barn: gear wheels on end of drive shaft, where further gears and drive belts would be attached for driving various machines
Horse mill
The Beamish gin gang and its ''in−situ'' horse mill have not been used since the 1830s when portable engines superseded it. The gin gang survived because its original mill was removed and it was converted for other uses. The present mill was brought by the museum from Berwick Mills Low Farm in Northumberland. The museum has repaired and installed it as a museum exhibit, but it is not currently fit for purpose. The top of the mill's main vertical axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
and the end of the main drive shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connec ...
are pivoted at the centre of their own separate tie beam
A tie, strap, tie rod, eyebar, guy-wire, suspension cables, or wire ropes, are examples of linear structural components designed to resist tension. It is the opposite of a strut or column, which is designed to resist compression. Ties may be ...
, which is below and parallel with the main roof tie beam and set in the gin gang's side walls at either end. The mill's tie beam has to be stabilised with two massive oak beams which run, either side of the drive shaft, from tie beam to barn wall. A large and basic engine like this can create great stresses from the torque engendered.
See also
* Horse mill
* List of horse mills
* Threshing machine
A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of farm equipment that threshes grain, that is, it removes the seeds from the stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out.
Before such machines were developed, threshi ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Horse mills
Images of England: glossary, horse engine house
History of agriculture
Architecture in the United Kingdom