What is a spieker?
A spieker is originally a granary: a storage building for harvested grain and other field crops, mainly from the Middle Ages. The word is related to the Latin spicarium (granary) and the German Speicher. To protect the harvest from theft, fire and rodents, spiekers were often built separately from the farmhouse. At first in timber, later preferably in stone, and sometimes surrounded by a moat or even built to be somewhat defensible.
Function and characteristics
- Storage of taxes and rents. Rents and tithes were often paid in kind. A monastery or feudal lord therefore needed secure storage for longer periods.
- Dry, airy lofts. Grain was stored in the lofts and turned regularly to keep it dry and free of vermin.
- Robust construction. Thick walls, small openings and a high, heavy roof. Sometimes a spieker also had a room for the steward.
- Related names. In the Low Saxon and Westphalian language area, including across the border in Germany, such a storage building is likewise called a spieker (Spieker).
Application: conversion and maintenance
Surviving spiekers are often listed and are now being given new uses, such as a home, studio or meeting space.
- Check the listed status. For a listed building, many alterations require consent; check with your local authority.
- Moisture and ventilation. These buildings were made for dry storage, not for living in. Insulating and heating require a well-considered building physics plan, otherwise condensation forms in the thick walls.
- Roof and loft floors. The lofts were once designed for heavy grain storage, but timber may have deteriorated over the centuries. Have the condition of the beams and roof investigated.
- Historic brickwork. Repair with suitable bricks and lime mortar; a hard cement mortar can damage the old brickwork.
Common mistake: insulating a spieker on the inside with a vapour-tight layer as you would a new-build house, trapping moisture in the walls.
Related terms
- Farmhouse
- Romanesque architecture
- Roof structure
- Natural stone
- Blind panel
- Cloister vault
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