Staddle stones (variations include steddle stones) were originally used as supporting bases for

granaries 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 animal ...

, hayricks, game larders, etc. The staddle stones lifted the granaries above the ground thereby protecting the stored grain from vermin and water seepage. In Middle English staddle or stadle is ''stathel'', from Old English ''stathol'', a foundation, support or trunk of a tree. They can be mainly found in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

("stabbur"),

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

and

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensi ...

(Northern Spain).

Origins

The name itself and evidence from surviving vernacular buildings with wooden 'feet' suggest that at first the staddles or supports were made of wood, such as at Peper Harow granary in Surrey.Quiney, Anthony. (1995). ''The Traditional Buildings of England''. Thames & Hudson. p.174. Stone staddles were longer lasting and a more reliable means of supporting structures which were sometimes a considerable weight. The name has become integrated into the landscape with bridges, houses, farms and other structures incorporating the name 'staddle'.

Design

The staddle stones usually had a separate head and base which gave the whole structure a 'mushroom' like appearance. Different areas in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

had different designs. The base varied from cylindrical to tapered rectangular to near triangular. Flat topped cone shaped staddle stones are to be found in parts of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. The tops are flat to support the beams, however some variation exists, such as square tops, fluted designs, slate tops, etc. Granary on Staddle Stones

A fine example is the English Granary built 1731, supported on staddle stones, which can be seen in the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex, UK. Such structures were common in Southern England in the 18th century. At Higher Farm in Heathfield,

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of ...

, staddle stones are part of the substantial barns built by the

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third s ...

in the 19th century. The dressed granite stone bases have specially hewn slate tops. The materials used depended on the stone available, giving rise to sandstone, red sandstone, granite examples, etc. The

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 T ...

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

on the Wray Common ceased to work in 1895. The mill had a granary standing next to it, supported by a large number of staddle stones.Bryan, Anthony (2006). ''Francis Frith's Windmills & Watermills''. Pub. Frith Collection. . p. 91. The Museum of Scottish Country Life at Wester Kittochside near

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a raise ...

has two 'Stathels', made in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

of cast iron. The structure is basically a cast iron version of a set of staddle stones with its wooden framework. These rare survivals are still in use.

Function

The base stones taper towards the top with an overlapping cap stone placed above, making it almost impossible for a rodent to climb up and into the hay or grain stored above. The air could freely circulate beneath the stored crops and this helped to keep it dry.''Book of the British Countryside''. Pub. London : Drive Publications, (1973). p. 213. A wood framework was placed onto the tops of the stones, the staddles being arranged in two or three rows, giving sixteen or more stones. The hayricks,

Tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

s, granaries, etc. were built on top of this frame.

Granaries and beehives

These were often constructed with wooden weather-boards such as at Blaxland Farm in

Sturry Sturry is a village on the Great Stour river situated northeast of Canterbury in Kent. Its large civil parish incorporates several hamlets and, until April 2019, the former mining village of Hersden. Geography Sturry lies at the old Roman ju ...

, Kent, which has nine staddles. However, if the grain was stored loose then the sides were filled in with brick nogging and light lath-and-plaster at the wall tops. Wooden steps up to the buildings were detachable and stored by hanging them up on the side of the structure. If stone or brick steps were built then the top step was not built, thus denying access to rats and other vermin. Some of these granaries had a 'cat flap' and others had a recess inside the steps which served as a dog kennel.Peters, J.E.C. (2003). ''Discovering Traditional Farm Buildings''. Shire Publications. . Most granaries were used for the storage of two or three separate crops, having a capacity of 500 to 2500

bushels A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an imperial and US customary unit of volume based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel is equal to 2 kennings (obsolete), 4 pecks, or 8 dry gallons, and was used mostly for agricultu ...

. The arrangement of the stones to support the structure and its weight when in use, required nine, twelve or sixteen staddles. The production of staddles was therefore a fairly significant local industry. Small granaries could make do with five, one being in the middle. The Upper Hexford granary in Oxfordshire uses thirty-six staddles. Beehives were often set on top of staddle stones to keep out predators and provide dry and airy conditions.Foster, A.M. (1988). Bee Boles and Bee Houses. Shire Publications. . p.9.

Game larders

Small staddle stones were used to support small roofed box-shaped

game larder A game larder, also sometimes known as a deer or venison larder, deer, venison or game house, game pantry or game store, is a small domestic outbuilding where the carcasses of game, including deer, game birds, hares and rabbits, are hung to mature ...

s which were used on the larger estates for storage of game, such as pheasant, brought back by shooting parties, etc.

Barns

Timber-framed barns raised onto staddle stones were sometimes found in the south of England. Apart from the usual benefits it seems that some correlation between this barn type and the builder being a tenant exists. Being on staddles such barns remained the property of the tenant. In

and

(NW Spain), these barns are called

hórreo An ''hórreo'' is a typical granary from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Asturias, Galicia, where it might be called a Galician granary, and Northern Portugal), built in wood or stone, raised from the ground (to keep rodents out) by pi ...

Landscape gardening

Staddles are often found in architectural salvage yards as they may be seen as attractive structures. They are also sold new, being made from moulded concrete. Chainsaws are used to produce wooden 'staddle stones' for use as garden seats or ornaments. In this context the staddle stones are often called ''

mushroom stones Mushroom stones, or mushroom rocks, in Ireland are limestone boulders undercut by past weathering regimes. These rocks take the form of solitary sentinels of limestone which still bear the unmistakable marks of long-continued erosion by ice, ...

''.

Conservation

Staddle stones are often well over a century old and have developed a good lichen 'patina' with slow and fast growing species adhering to the surfaces. They are better not cleaned as the lichen flora is well worth preserving to add to the biodiversity of a garden scene.

Surveyors marks

Old land deeds in northeastern United States often refer to ''Oak Staddle'' or ''Walnut Staddle''. These deeds are from the late 18th century to the middle 19th century. Either the owners would cut a tree leaving the stump and request that the surveyors measure to it, or the surveyor would measure out to the location of a new lot corner and a ''staddle'' would be inserted into the ground like a boundary stone.

Notes

References

External links

Staddle stones and Game Larders

Granary on Staddle Stone

Large collection of staddle stone images

A Researcher's Guide to Local History terminology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staddle Stones Agricultural buildings Building stone Shallow foundations Architectural elements