Housebarn
A housebarn (also house-barn or house barn) is a building that is a combination of a house and a barn. Styles. There are several styles of housebarns. One style is a building where the barn portion shares a wall with the house portion. Sometimes the house portion will extend into part of the loft on the second storey of the barn portion. Another style features the barn as the lower portion of the building and the house as the second floor such as the Black Forest-style house. Similarly but for different reasons, some defensive house structures such  as the bastle house and some tower houses combine animals on the ground floor and living quarters above, a security measure against raids. For example, bastle houses are found along the Anglo-Scottish border, in areas formerly plagued by border Reivers. History. Housebarns were built beginning in prehistoric times after people discovered that the body heat of animals helps to warm human living areas. The ancient four room house is an Iron Age type highly identified with the ancient Israelites. Living with livestock in the combined building also allowed people to be able to prevent thieves from stealing their animals . Housebarns were developed in western Europe, Scandinavia, and the British Isles and continued being built into the 19th century. The first three designs in the 1839 edition of "An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture..." were for combined living space for the farm family and their animals. Immigrants to North America rarely built housebarns; they typically divided the barn and house functions into separate buildings although part of New England in particular is known for its connected farms. Advantages and disadvantages. Owners have stated that they find it convenient to not have to walk outside while feeding  or watching a medical issue such as birth of animal young. They often can hear the animal noises, which can be disruptive or helpful when an animal has problems. One American builder estimates that 5% of its buildings have an attached living area, some of which are small apartments. They cite several concerns about building a housebarn. Since fewer people are interested in owning a living quarters attached to the house, housebarns have a more limited marketability. This causes lending institutions to be less likely to grant a loan. Bankers are less likely to accept housebarns as collateral. Housebarns are  more costly to insure since they are treated like barns, which have a higher risk of fire. The house portion may get unwanted pests that are common in barns like mice, flies, and birds. Distribution. Belgium. In Belgium, most of farms were housebarns, referred to as "Langgevelboerderij" (long-facade farm) in Dutch and simply "cinse" (farm) in Walloon, then "ferme" in French. They were located in the heart of the village until the early 1950s. At that time, barns, at first, then stables began to be built outside the main building, or even outside the village. Germany. Housebarns in Germany  are generally called an einhaus (single-house or "all-in-one house"), eindachhof (one-roof-house) or wohnstallhaus (residential barn house). The Middle German house group includes: The Middle German houses have a floor plan transverse to the walls where the Low German houses are longitudinal floor plan, three aisled buildings (dreischiffige). The Low German house group extends from the Netherlands to East Prussia and includes: The Gulf house (Gulfhaus) is named for the storage area called a gulf. Its range extends across the North Sea coastal regions from West Flanders to Elbe-Weser Triangle. The Gulf house developed from  the Old Frisian farmhouse. The Geestharden house named for the geography of part of the region it is found, the geest, in Northern Germany, Denmark, and northern Netherlands. The Geestharden, Gulf house (including its variant, the Haubarg) and the Low German hall house are the three basic, historic farmhouse types in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Other house types in southern Germany include: The Upper Lusatian house or Umgebinde is another barn-house type found in a region in part of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, a wider range than the historical region of Upper Lusatia. This is  a transversely divided Middle German house with unique construction features. The Black Forest house group are found in southwest Germany in the black forest region and include: Housebarns were common in the Schleswig-Holstein region of German in the 17th and 18th centuries. Netherlands. Combined farmhouses and barns in a number of different styles can be found in several areas of the Netherlands. A general list of farm types in the Dutch language is . Hall-farmhouse group (hallenhuisboerderij) also known as the Low German house group: Cross house group (dwarshuisgroep): Northern house group (noordelijke huisgroep) also called the Frisian house  group (Friese huisgroep): United States. Housebarns are more prevalent in areas that were settled by German immigrants. There are twelve historic housebarns in the United States. Many of these housebarns are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: