A head-body farmhouse is a farm type in which the dwelling (the head) adjoins the barn (the body) directly, without the narrow connecting link that forms the neck in a head-neck-body farmhouse. It is the more compact, cheaper variant of the same basic type.
The difference
In the head-neck-body farm a narrow neck mediates between living and working. In the head-body farm that link is absent: the head connects straight to the body. The functions that would otherwise sit in the neck — kitchen, dairy, churning room — move into the front of the barn or the rear of the dwelling. The dwelling is correspondingly shorter.
| Head-neck-body | Head-body | |
|---|---|---|
| Volumes | Three, with a clear waist | Two, directly adjoining |
| Work rooms | In the neck | Front of the barn or rear of the house |
| Build cost | Higher, extra built volume | Lower, more compact |
| Appearance | Stately, articulated | Plain, squat |
Origin and distribution
The head-body farmhouse emerged in the second half of the eighteenth century as a smaller variant of the head-neck-body type. It is found mainly in the east of Friesland and in the Groningen Westerkwartier — areas of sandy soil, less fertile than the clay of northern Friesland and Groningen. On those poorer soils holdings were smaller and building budgets tighter, and the expensive, unproductive middle section is the first thing to go.
Construction points
- Fire separation — precisely because the neck no longer acts as a buffer, the dividing wall between dwelling and barn is the critical detail. In present-day use it must be a fire-resisting construction.
- Moisture and odour — without the intermediate link, living space abuts barn space directly. Any conversion needs a vapour-controlled and airtight separation, or barn air and moisture migrate into the house.
- Timber frame — as in the full type, the body is built around a timber bent frame carrying the roof and the hay load; the outer walls are largely a skin.
Related terms
- Head-neck-body farmhouse
- Farmhouse
- Timber bent frame
- Fire wall
- Longhouse farmhouse
- Threshing floor
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