Every farmer knows that cold animals eat more and fatten less: "A cold beast is a skinny beast." Unlike sheep, most cattle do not have warm, waterproof coats and need a warm and dry place in which to shelter if they are to do well.
In the High Weald , open-fronted sheds provided shelter for cattle in winter. These "shelter sheds" - best placed facing south - were arranged around a yard, together with other buildings. The sheds usually contained feeding racks but the cattle were not tethered - as they were in some other forms of cow house. The agricultural improvements of the 18th century emphasised the importance of farmyard manure to maintain the fertility of the soil: when cattle were kept in yards, their manure was easily collected.
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