The Yorkshire Dales are known for their dry-stone walls and attractive stone built field barns but there’s another kind of structure that I find quite beguiling. The best examples are not the newest, but often the oldest, bending to the elements and half fallen down.
Many were put up years ago as a semi-temporary arrangement, using the strongest, cheapest material available in a hurry, and any thought of replacement subsequently forgotten. Corrugated iron sheds.
The strong wibbly wobbly material can be painted but is often left to rust, adding Autumn colour to the hills. Corrugated iron is functional and adaptable. Some buildings are constructed only out of this galvanised material. Sometimes corrugated iron is used as a rough roof repair, quicker and easier than slate. A few haphazardly placed strips can extend a farm building, giving new life through a few curvy pieces of metal.
This man-made material was invented in Britain in the 1820s and then exported all over the world, valued for its versatility and cheapness. The ‘wriggly tin’ rarely looks smart and yet it’s loved by many, hanging on by rusty nails and enduring all weathers until it almost becomes part of the landscape.
Many were put up years ago as a semi-temporary arrangement, using the strongest, cheapest material available in a hurry, and any thought of replacement subsequently forgotten. Corrugated iron sheds.
The strong wibbly wobbly material can be painted but is often left to rust, adding Autumn colour to the hills. Corrugated iron is functional and adaptable. Some buildings are constructed only out of this galvanised material. Sometimes corrugated iron is used as a rough roof repair, quicker and easier than slate. A few haphazardly placed strips can extend a farm building, giving new life through a few curvy pieces of metal.
This man-made material was invented in Britain in the 1820s and then exported all over the world, valued for its versatility and cheapness. The ‘wriggly tin’ rarely looks smart and yet it’s loved by many, hanging on by rusty nails and enduring all weathers until it almost becomes part of the landscape.
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