Thousands of barns are scattered among the villages, meadows and pastures of the Yorkshire Dales and make the landscape like no other. Stone structures of great character, they form a monument to immense labour in past centuries. Many have seen better days but cling on to life blessed with a long pedigree stretching back more than a thousand years. This is the first book to look at the barns of the Dales in depth. It falls into two distinct halves, representing the diverse interests of its authors. David Joy comes from Upper Wharfedale farming stock and knows many individual barns at first hand. He writes about their rise and decline, and portrays a year in the life of a typical barn before farming practices changed out of all recognition. He also puts the subject in perspective with a profile of each barn on the Wharfedale farm that he owns. Andy Singleton has been a builder in the Dales for more than twenty-five years and has worked on many barns, including several that have been converted into houses of great individuality. He takes up the story by covering the construction methods and materials that were used to build barns, and then explains in detail how they can be converted into dwellings. The practical information is complemented by case studies of some of the most successful conversions, which make the book essential reading for anyone contemplating this adventurous but rewarding exercise. Plans and photographs - both archive and specially commissioned - complete a truly fascinating work that breaks completely new ground.

'Many of the best of England's barns are in the Dales. So it is wonderful to see a book celebrating, with wit and affection and penetrating historical insight, the Dales barn in all its undersung glory. This truly is a delightful and valuable book - almost as good, in fact, as the barns themselves.' Bill Bryson