There has been a farmhouse here for at least 300 years. More than just a house, it was a complex of working buildings. You can spot some of the essentials of a traditional farmhouse. The water trough in front of the house supplied its water – for drinking as well as washing. Pigs were kept in the sty opposite the house. The block of stone at the corner of the sty is part of a cheese press. Nearly all farmers made their own cheese from their cows’ milk until the 1900s.
Imagine the farmhouse filled with 21 children and their parents. That was the Mellor family who lived here during the late 1800s. Their 21st child died young so they had another to make up for the loss! The house was smaller than today when the Mellor family first moved in – it has been extended since then. You can see where the roof was raised to create the attics.
Two people live in Under Whitle today. They farm the land and continue to develop the house for modern needs. It now has a garage. Under Whitle is one of five remaining farmhouses in Whitle. There were seven farmhouses here in 1845. The project has found the remains of two more. Where have all the people gone? Modern farming requires less labour, so people moved away to find other jobs.