Ancient sheep pen restored in the Howgills - Yorkshire Dales

A 300-year-old sheep pen and washfold has been restored on Brant Fell in the Howgills as part of a £3m project [1] supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.  

Two dry stone wallers - Steven Allen from Tebay and Trevor Stamper from Shap completed the task in 15 days this winter, in bracing weather conditions says Claire Braeburn, ‘Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons’ project officer. 

Master craftsman Steven said: “Being a farmer's son, with sheep on this moor back in the day, I was delighted to be able to rebuild this historic sheep pen. I hope the commoners use it for many years to come.”

As Claire explained: “Historic sheepfolds are used by commoners today to separate out hefted sheep back to individual farms, to treat sheep and for gathers. Gathers are when multiple commoners and their dogs work together to guide sheep off the fell for tupping, shearing and lambing throughout the year.

Project backer, the Foundation for Common Land says commoning is a way of shared land management in which each flock has an area of land where they stay without fencing; in the Dales this is known as a “heft”. Only 3900 farmers are commoners in England, grazing the land for food production or using resources like firewood and bracken.

The practice of commoning, with people exercising rights over land that is privately owned, dates back to the 13th century. Today common land accounts for just 3% of England. It includes large tracts of the most well-loved, free to visit and ecologically rich landscapes, which are also important for health and wellbeing.

The Our Upland Commons project comes at a pivotal time for the 12 commons getting help - totalling 18,000 hectares. There are serious threats to commons and the system of commoning. If not addressed these rare landscapes and the benefits they bring now and, in the future, will be lost says Claire.

Other initiatives that are part of the Our Upland Commons Project in the Dales include farmer-led habitat assessments, Natural Flood Management, supporting commoners through schemes like Sustainable Farming Incentive, and providing tools to support their businesses.