As the name implies, a granary is a building for the storage of grain after harvesting. In modern times, grain is stored in huge steel bins which serve as multipurpose storage, drying and cleaning units but, until the 20th century, more traditional buildings of various guises were erected for the purpose on almost every farm.
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There was no standard plan or size for granaries but they did have to meet certain basic requirements such as keeping the grain dry and out of the reach of vermin such as rats and mice. Granaries were usually square wooden or brick buildings set on pillars capped with mushroom-shaped stones known as 'staddle stones'.
The projection of the staddle stones prevented mice and rats from gaining entry to the granary while the erection of the building on pillars allowed for the circulation of air beneath the (usually wooden) floor keeping the grain dry.
In the late 18th century, such traditional granaries by buildings which combined a cart shed with a granary; carts and farm machinery were stored at ground level, protected from the weather, while the floor above, less likely to attract rats and mice, was used to store the threshed grain. This arrangement also made the filling of carts for transporting the grain easier.
BUILDINGS OF INTEREST
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MILLS & MILLING
