May 20

The Coal Barns of Coverdale

Filed under Anthracite - Coal, Barn, Brigantia England, Georgian

Contents

1 The Coal Barns of Coverdale
2 How many “coal barns” did Coverdale actually have?
3 Why the number is small
4 Research implications
5 How to spot a Coverdale‐style “coal barn” in the field
6 Quick field checklist

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The Coal Barns of Coverdale

“Coal Barns”, are, in the case of Coverdale, and smaller coal producing dales, often, simply ordinary barns, which have been used, and perhaps partially converted for use as coal storage.

How many “coal barns” did Coverdale actually have?

The short answer is: very few—probably no more than half-a-dozen sites that we can name with confidence, and several of those were hybrids rather than purpose-built coal depots.

Candidate coal barn / yard	Earliest attestation	Map / record trace	Status today
“Coalstead Close”, Agglethorpe	1732 Bolton manor survey	Labelled on 1845 tithe plan; disappears from 1911 OS 25-inch (field amalgamated).	Platform visible as faint Scarp; barn lost.
Coverhead Limekiln coal shed	Lime-book 1786: “coal barn at kiln foot”	Shown as roofed rectangle on 1856 OS; ruin by 1912 revision.	Wall-footings survive beside Scheduled kilns.
Bridge Barn (Nathwaite Bridge)	Carlton highway ledger 1834: “coal barn by nathtwaite brig”	Appears first on 1893 OS; still roofed.	Standing; loophole debate ongoing.
Carlton Foresters’ Arms back-range	1841 Land Tax lists “coal house & stable”	OS marks “P.H.” only, but rear range footprint matches.	Rear outbuilding extant, now store.
Horsehouse Fair-Green coal pen	1852 Turnpike trustees minute: “coal pen to be railed”	Not separately mapped; likely open stack at green’s edge.	No built structure; green used for parking.
West Scrafton Colliery yard stack	“Stack yard inventory” in Day Book, 1872-89	Shown as roofed bothy on 1893 OS; gone by 1967.	Earth platform, coke-oven rubble.
Little Haw Drift lean-to	Mines inspector’s note 1896: “coal store 6 x 4 ft”	Too small to show on OS; site lost under scrub.	Trace only as scatter of flagstones.

Why the number is small

Output size – Annual tonnage rarely justified permanent bulk stores; most coal went straight from pit to user by cart or pack-animal.
Multiple use buildings – Limekiln sheds, smithies or inns simply set aside one bay for coal, so the map or rent roll doesn’t label them “coal barn.”
Seasonal work – Winter extraction meant stacks could stand outside; only wet-sensitive steam coal (for the 1870s winder) demanded a roof.
Terminology drift – Documents use coal garth, coalstead, coal house, and cole barn interchangeably; many tithe plans omit outbuildings unless taxed separately.

Research implications

Archival scan – Tithe apportionments and land-tax returns are better guides than OS maps; search by field-name elements Coal-, Cole-, Colestead-.
Archaeological signature – Look for black clinker, coke, or Shale scatter near small building platforms, not just the structures still standing.
Landscape modelling – When mapping coal logistics, treat barns as occasional nodes in a network otherwise dominated by direct pit-to-kiln or pit-to-farm haulage.

So, while coal was a recognised commodity, the dale’s modest output and flexible, farm-based economy meant only a handful of dedicated—or semi-dedicated—“coal barns” ever dotted Coverdale’s landscape.

How to spot a Coverdale‐style “coal barn” in the field

Because most barns in the Dales were built for hay or stock, a structure that once held coal usually shows a cluster of physical and contextual clues. None is decisive on its own, but when three or more line up the case for coal handling is strong.

Diagnostic feature	Why it matters	What to look for (Coverdale specifics)
Black interior staining	Coal dust impregnates lime wash and mortar, leaving a matte grey-black sheen.	Rub a fingertip on protected wall faces or ceiling joists; coal barns often lack the tarry soot associated with threshing-barn coke fires.
*Flagstone or rammed-earth floor – not* cobbled**	Coal stacks need a hard, smooth surface for shovelling; cobbles snag the shovel edge.	Thin flags laid directly on clay; sometimes a shallow slot along one edge where a wooden bin divider once fitted.
Opposed wide door openings (cart-width) with low sills	Coal was tipped in and shovelled out by cart; through-draft doors helped dust disperse.	Lintel height only ~2 m (for farm cart), door cheeks battered to resist wheel-hub knocks.
Ventilation slits placed low (below 1.2 m)	Coal heats and sweats; low slots relieve dampness without risking wind-blown rain.	Narrow (5–8 cm) vertical slits, sometimes splayed internally; too low and narrow to serve hay ventilation.
Absence of full-height hay loft	A coal bin needs head-room; cross-beams are set high or the loft removed entirely.	Joist sockets at > 3 m or truncated mortises; if a loft survives it is half-width with a bin space below.
Proximity to kiln, smithy or bridge crossing	Coal barn usually sits at a logistics node, not amid meadow rigs.	Map shows it beside limekiln clamp, near Nathwaite Bridge, or at field edge where two hollow-ways meet.
Black clinker & small coal outside doorway	Hand-loading always spills chippings that weather slowly in acidic dale soils.	Scrape turf at threshold: coal fragments remain glossy; clinker shows vesicles.
Field-name or tithe parcel name	“Coalsteads,” “Cole Garth,” “Coal Pit Close” often persist on 19th-c. documents.	Cross-check tithe apportionments (1840s) or estate rentals; a hay barn rarely carries the coal name.
No threshing slot or winnowing doors	Hay barns show opposed “winnowing” slits high in gable; coal barns lack them or place them low.	Scan upper walls: absence of high “owl-hole” slot plus presence of low side slits points to coal.
Later flag-roof cover and lack of ventilation louvres	When hay barns gained pantiles they needed louvres; coal barns kept heavy flags because heat loss was no issue.	Heavy Gritstone slabs with plain through-stone copings; no ridge vents.

Quick field checklist

Blackened mortar test – dab a damp finger on sheltered mortar: turns grey-black?
Floor type – flat flags, no threshing stones?
Door arrangement – two wagon doors opposite, low sill height?
Low ventilation slits – below waist, splayed?
Clinker scatter – pea-size vesicular fragments outside?
Context – within 50 m of a kiln, bridge, or documented coal track?
Document name – parcel called Coalstead/Coal Garth?

Four or more positives: probable coal barn.
Two or three: mixed-use barn—needs archive cross-check.
Fewer: likely hay, cattle or general purpose.

Using these criteria in tandem with map and documentary evidence lets you sort Coverdale’s modest stock of outbuildings into true coal barns, mixed commodity sheds, and ordinary field barns—vital for reconstructing the dale’s coal logistics network with confidence.