Our Story

The History of Saddleback Barn

Built from stone, the barn is on three levels and is an example of a “bank barn” with the west side of the lower ground floor being below the road level.

Bank barns first appeared in Cumbria before the 1660s on the farms of wealthy farmers who bought drove cattle from Scotland and fattened them over winter before selling them in spring. Current Broughton Beck residents remember cattle being driven down the road to Saddleback Barn as recently as the 1970s. Bank barns are rectangular buildings and usually built from stone and the great majority were built between 1750 and 1860.

The stone walls of Saddleback barn run to a yard thick. The roof is supported by 3 timber trusses – one can be seen in the wall in the lounge of the Hayloft. The middle and upper floors are supported by the original beams that separated the barn into areas used to house a variety of farm animals and hay. The barn is known to have housed cattle, and pigs were kept in the field to the east side – now the house garden. It is likely the barn had a central threshing area with hay or corn (cereal) storage bays on either side on the upper floor. The remains of shippons form the wardrobe walls and alcove in the Stable.

In the early 1990s Saddleback barn was converted into a house. The house was further converted to provide bed & breakfast accommodation in 2000. The present self catering accommodation was created from the north wing of the house in 2018.

Eco - friendly

We have established the cottages on an eco friendly footing and encourage guests, who have not yet taken up this challenge, to try eco friendly living while they are here. The cottages are part of Cumbrian Cottages Green collection for sustainability:

Reducing energy & water consumption

• Our heating control system enables rooms to be heated individually. This reduces the wasted heat when rooms are most likely to be unoccupied;
• All lights are fitted with energy saving bulbs;
• All appliances are minimum A+ rated for energy efficiency;
• We provide additional blankets and throws in Winter to reduce the need to turn up the heating;
• We have placed several water butts around the property to collect rainwater for use on flowers;
• All Toilets are fitted with short/long flush mechanisms.

Reducing waste

• There are comprehensive recycling bins in each cottage, including a compost caddy.
• Where bin liners are provided they are bio-degradable.
• We have removed all single use plastic and encourage guests to try living without it – see alternatives in Cut the Wrap in Ulverston.
• We provide re-usable alternatives to wrap up and eat picnics, reusable shopping bags and access to milk in glass bottles.

Sustainable living

• We provide information and links to local public transport and activities from the doorstep to reduce the need for using the car.
• We provide links to local shops, markets and events.
• We also provide lots of information on local activities, wildlife reserves to avoid the need to travel far.
• We have put owl and bat boxes in the garden, regularly feed the birds and allow our visiting house martins & swallows to nest in the eaves & garage. 
• Try our plastic free challenge.