Gin House, Park Farm, Kildale

Horses were once a traditional source of power on the farm and in industry. Threshing, milling, pumping, lifting, sawing, churning would all be done under horse-power. On farms, the ‘gin’, a shortening of the word ‘engine’, was often undercover in a separate building attached to the barn called a ‘gin-house’, and in many cases these are of a distinctive angular design.

The above typical mechanism shows a one horse gin in the open air but up to four horses could be used. Gin-houses were normally on the north side of the barn, so to maximise shade and ventilation but here at Park Farm it is on the south side.

Whilst horse-gins were employed throughout the country they were most frequently used in the North East and the east of Scotland. There are over 200 known examples in North East Yorkshire alone¹“Historical Britain”. Wood, Eric S. Page 88. 1997. The Harvill Press. ISBN 1 86046 2146. One in Nunnington operated from 1790 to the 1930s, but most date from the early 19th-century such as this one at Park Farm²North York Moors Historic Environment Record (HER) No: 17007. It is an addition to the main barn which is 18th-century.

With many barns being converted to residential, the addition of a gin-house provides a quirky living room.

• 1
  “Historical Britain”. Wood, Eric S. Page 88. 1997. The Harvill Press. ISBN 1 86046 2146
• 2
  North York Moors Historic Environment Record (HER) No: 17007