Dales pub goes back to the 16th century (From Craven Herald)

Dales pub goes back to the 16th century

9:54am Friday 7th July 2006 in

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A FAMILY is turning back time by building a cruck barn - the first new one in the Yorkshire Dales for hundreds of years.

The design dates back to Anglo-Saxon times and was the common form of building in Britain for 500 years.

Now father and son David and Robert Aynesworth are taking on the challenge at their family pub.

They took over the Craven Arms in Appletreewick last year and decided they needed more dining space.

So they chose an extension that would bring back a part of Dales history. It is thought that a new cruck barn has not been built in the Dales for more than 250 years.

David said: "I have always wanted to build one of these. I just love them.

"It will be the only one in the Yorkshire Dales with public access. It is the ideal opportunity to create something different."

Work started in November and the extension to the 16th century pub is expected to take around a year to complete. The cruck barn will be used as an events or function room and will be available for private hire.

Thirty-two-year-old Robert has been building the barn using all the traditional materials and techniques.

"It is such an unusual project, " he said.

"Everything is now standardised and looks the same. This is different. Something like this doesn't get built that often."

The father-and-son team has no experience of this type of project, but decided to go-ahead without an architect.

Using Robert's experience of repairing and maintaining historical buildings, they decided to look at existing cruck barns and get advice.

Robert said: "It's about having confidence and being willing to have ago."

He added: "We have learnt ourselves.We learn every day.We didn't know how to do it when we set off."

Because many aspects of the construction were untried, they practised some processes before having a go on the real thing. All the materials used have been sourced locally.

Broughton Hall donated the bent beams that are critical to the A-frame design.

David explained that it took a lot of searching to get the ideal tree, which has to be split in two using wedges to form two identical roof sections.

Green oak was used for the frame and a mixture of wood from Bolton Abbey Estate was used for the rest of the structure.

One of the most arduous tasks has been collecting enough heather to thatch the roof. So far Robert has spent two months collecting it from Bolton Abbey Estate.

He explained that there were no shortcuts and the heather had to be wrapped into bundles before covering the roof.

He said: "You have to pull it out by hand. It took some collecting. It is very hard but you have to do it the traditional way to get the roots out."

He added that early cruck barns were all thatched with ling, which was available locally.

Wool from local sheep has been processed by a Bradford company to provide the barn's insulation.

Robert said: "It comes in sheets and is much easier to handle than the modern alternative. It is more pleasant to work with."

The stone used for the walls has been gathered from the site and lime render and lime mortar was used to finish off the stonework.

The new barn is expected to be unveiled in early wintertime.

A new ladies toilet has also been built and will be boast traditionally-made wooden doors and fittings.

Local barn historian David Joy said: "This is a form of building that was common in Britain for at least 500 years and dates right back to Anglo-Saxon times.

"It is how most houses and barns in the countryside were originally built."

He added: "That was a form of construction that was standard until the late 1600s in most of the Dales.

"What happened here was this traditional method died out in the villages long before it did in the outlying fields."