Stang End Cruck House

The 17th Century cruck house that now stands proudly at Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole, North Yorkshire. The building is originally from Danby, but was completely deconstructed and re-erected at the museum in 1967 for preservation. Well worth a visit, the interior is even better and often hosts living history demonstrations. Cruck houses were once common across rural Britain, in the medieval often serving as major structures such as large houses and tithe barns. 'Cruck' comes from Middle English, and ultimately Old Norse, meaning 'hook'. This refers to the massive curved beams you can still see exposed in the end of the building forming an 'A', and in some places poking through the walls, lending immense strength to support the roof. Once England would have provided enough oaks and other great trees to create naturally strong buildings like this. But after centuries of woodland clearance, shipbuilding and industry you would be hard pressed to return to traditional houses like these.