Listed Building record MDR14220 - The Round House, Calke Abbey

A grade II listed animal shelter dating to the mid 19th century. The shelter is built of rubble limestone and tooled sandstone. It has a Welsh slate roof. It is polygonal in plan with twelve sides, divided by circular engaged columns. There is one bay to the west. It has three square window openings. Listed for group value only. (1) The polygonal animal shelter at Calke stands out from the other farmstead buildings for both its isolated position and its general appearance. It is built of stone above ground level and although it is not known as The Round House, is actually built with twelve sides. It has a conical roof. It has a single broad entry in the south-west quadrant and is lit by three windows, equally spaced in the other quadrants. Although the building's distinctive shape is often associated with dovecotes, this structure is believed to have been used for the draught horses on the farm, in particular the mares when in foal. The lack of corners for mares to back in to meant that human assistance was more easily and safely provided. One of the walls has an intact manger and hayrack, their positions above the floor reflecting the heights of the working horses. There is evidence that similar feeding fixtures may have existed on the directly opposite wall face, whilst possible tethering fixtures may have been affixed to the faces at right angles to these. This is an unusual building as is probably of more than regional significance. The farm buildings at Calke may have been built in the 1830s and 1840s, in a period when there was a lull in the building of planned model farms. The brickwork certainly dates them to before 1850. Their positioning, and the lack of a farmhouse, usually a key component of a model farm, suggests a more organic growth of the farmstead, probably starting at the pre-existing horse enclosure with a barn and animal sheds. The Round House possibly dates from before 1835. (2)