STABLES HORSES HERSTMONCEUX VILLAGE SCIENCE VIRTUAL MUSEUM OBSERVATORY

STABLING FOR HORSES at HERSTMONCEUX MUSEUM

A rare surviving wooden building in the heart of the Sussex countryside

LOCAL HISTORY - A horse drawn wagon operated in Herstmonceux by the local bakery. This photograph is from an old postcard courtesy of Mick Hall. The building adjacent to Herstmonceux Museum was the original stables for Lime Park. This building is now called the Old Rectory. As of March 2014 these stables are owned by Peter and June Townley.

TIMBER - Various stable designs using wooden construction on a solid concrete base. The main objective is to provide a home to shelter your horses from the elements. Horses are a lot of work. They need feeding, mucking out, grooming and riding. We are going for feather edged boarding look (top right) with a slightly higher ridge peak to accept clay peg tiles or slates.

The stable is typically historically the second oldest building type on the farm. Free-standing stables began to be built from the 16th century. They were well built and placed near the house due to the value that the horses had as draught animals. High-status examples could have plastered ceilings to prevent dust falling through into the horses’ eyes. Complete interiors – with stalls, mangers and feed racks – of the 19th century and earlier are rare.

Historical stables in Great Britain had a hayloft on the first floor and a pitching door at the front. Doors and windows were symmetrically arranged. Interior was divided into stalls - a large stall was for a foaling mare or sick horse. The floors were cobbled, and later of brick, with drainage channels laid across the floors. Outside steps to the first floor were common for farm hands to live in the building.

There are many different types of stables in use today such as the American barn which is a large barn with a door each end and individual stalls inside or free standing stables with the classic top and bottom opening doors. The term "stable" is also used to describe a group of animals kept by one owner, regardless of housing or location.

The exterior design of a stable can vary widely, based on climate, building materials, historical period, and cultural styles of architecture. A wide range of building materials can be used, including masonry (bricks or stone), wood, and steel. Stables can range widely in size, from a small building to house only one or two animals, to facilities used at agricultural shows or at race tracks, which can house hundreds of animals.

HORSES

Worldwide, horses play a role within human cultures and have done so for millennia. Horses are used for leisure activities, sports, and working purposes. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that in 2008, there were almost 59,000,000 horses in the world, with around 33,500,000 in the Americas, 13,800,000 in Asia and 6,300,000 in Europe and smaller portions in Africa and Oceania. There are estimated to be 9,500,000 horses in the United States alone. The American Horse Council estimates that horse-related activities have a direct impact on the economy of the United States of over $39 billion, and when indirect spending is considered, the impact is over $102 billion. In a 2004 "poll" conducted by Animal Planet, more than 50,000 viewers from 73 countries voted for the horse as the world's 4th favorite animal.

Communication between human and horse is paramount in any equestrian activity; to aid this process horses are usually ridden with a saddle on their backs to assist the rider with balance and positioning, and a bridle or related headgear to assist the rider in maintaining control. Sometimes horses are ridden without a saddle, and occasionally, horses are trained to perform without a bridle or other headgear Many horses are also driven, which requires a harness, bridle, and some type of vehicle.

RIDING - Who is exercising who.

DOMESTICATION

Domestication of the horse most likely took place in central Asia prior to 3500 BC. Two major sources of information are used to determine where and when the horse was first domesticated and how the domesticated horse spread around the world. The first source is based on palaeological and archaeological discoveries; the second source is a comparison of DNA obtained from modern horses to that from bones and teeth of ancient horse remains.

The earliest archaeological evidence for the domestication of the horse comes from sites in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, dating to approximately 3500–4000 BC. By 3000 BC, the horse was completely domesticated and by 2000 BC there was a sharp increase in the number of horse bones found in human settlements in northwestern Europe, indicating the spread of domesticated horses throughout the continent. The most recent, but most irrefutable evidence of domestication comes from sites where horse remains were interred with chariots in graves of the Sintashta and Petrovka cultures c. 2100 BC

Herstmonceux Museum is a monument to the early electrical generating age. This little gem of a wooden building once provided electricity to the whole village of Herstmonceux before 1909, including for cooking by 1913, demonstrating a development of battery storage for nighttime and generating capacity by motor during the day.

The complex survived the First and Second World Wars to become the workshops for a local inventor and artist for over 30 years, many of which inventions (cars and boats) are soon to be on display in honour of two extremely progressive people (one still alive today). The building itself is a monument to science; technology in action.

An outbuilding is designed for easy conversion to a stable, based on a lean to that needed to be relocated so that a Solar Conservatory could be installed. This is the development sequence below.

BEFORE - A lean to at the rear of the property had to be removed to make installing the Solar Conservatory easier. The old lean to was relocated on a patch in the front (opposite side of the buildings) that had been piled high with stored bricks, building rubble (hardcore) and timber - and logs for over 20 years. Fencing on a hill above the site which our curator fitted new in 1988, had been pulled over by thick ivy, and deep rooted chestnut saplings were growing through the matrix.

INTERIM - Most of the 2.5m posts are in and some of the second user fencing panels, which were themselves donated to the cause. We are using a mix of new and old materials. Treated timbers are a must for garden buildings - so get the wallet out. The posts were set in steel supports from Tool Station in Eastbourne, the best deal around; and we did shop for bargains. About 3 tons of hardcore were moved to another area for later use. Several more tons of soil and ivy roots were removed and the site raked level. The subject of soil mechanics is fascinating. Not so interesting when it involves removing deep rooted saplings, with bouts of colorful language. But, you have to take the rough with the smooth - and the back and shoulder pains, blisters and bruises. Then all of a sudden - it's looking better already. Next comes the roof timbers.

ROOF SUPPORTS - The posts are in to enable the 6.0m treated beams to be set. These timbers will carry the recycled lean-to corrugated iron and some of that from the museum main building. Nothing is wasted. It is important to get the beams level and the posts upright. On the far end, the post is cut to set the tantalized beam in place. Reinforcing support uprights are added to strengthen the assembly. They were pre-drilled to ensure accurate nail placing using a Bosch 18v lithium cordless drill for £89 from B&Q. We get high winds around here, which will come under the roof and try to lift it. You can see the angle of lean of the roof in the left hand picture. The back beam will have to be set into all four posts - meaning a lot of cutting with a hand saw. We used an ordinary spirit level to get the beams horizontal. A laser level is also useful over these distances. Rain for two solid days halted play. As we are now well into the autumn months we can expect more delays. It all looks a bit hillbilly, but when treated it should blend in nicely. Recycling is good for the planet and your soul. We can live with a little mend and make do. We are though aiming for feather edged boarding to match the main building as time allows.

ROOFING - Left: All three beams are in and set. Right: The 8ft roofing sheets are laid in place starting from the rear, left to right. The nails used are those taken out when removing the galvanized iron sheeting from the rear of the museum. Considering that they are nearly 75 years old, it is amazing just how good their condition is - certainly good for another 74 years. The fixing technique demands that a nail is driven through two sheets of iron with a sharp blow from a hammer. There is no drilling first, the nail does all the work. It is not for the squeamish - and yes, bruised fingers are a certainty if you miss. Many of the front sheets needed to be cut down to 5ft, to get rid of parts rusted through, etc. A diamond disc was used for this on a standard 4'5" angle grinder @ £17.50 from Homebase in Eastbourne, which must represent the best deal yet. It slices through steel like butter. The roofing is now all on and the next thing to do is to cut four angled timbers for post-to-beam triangulation, to prevent lozenging. The timber for this project was supplied by Stamco's Eastbourne branch - and delivery was free. To complete the lean-to will be feather-edge boarded. Supplies of this timber are pending.

We are not quite here yet....... but soon. A new home for all the items stored in the rear lean to. The completed unit will be finished sympathetically to fit in with the country park feel. So, as this is work in progress, what of the actual solar conservatory. See here .....

ARCHAEOLOGY - Well will you look at that. This is a brown-field site. Digging down through the layers of earth, we struck backfill, clay where clay should not have been, then two iron water pipes behind a brick wall (footings). We also found glass by the bucket load. That means that there was a building here plumbed into (supplied from) the well at the rear of the building. We knew that anyway from studying old plans, but it's nice to have physical confirmation.

LINKS

http://www.findersandsellers.com/wordpress/stables/

http://www.garveydevelopments.com/services/stables

http://www.hydeparkstables.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse

http://www.oakleystables.co.uk/

East Sussex Archaeology