At one time the Great Barn was used to house cattle over the winter. Maintaining a herd of cattle allowed the Murgatroyds, and later the Starkie family, to be self-sufficient. One of the cows that would have been sheltered in the Great Barn was the 'Airedale Heifer', a prize-winning 19th-century cow weighing 2640 pounds and measuring 3.5 metres from nose to tail. Presumably the restored barn was named after this animal.
I can’t find much about the barn itself, except it was restored in 1992. Some sources suggest the restoration was based on the design of the Great Barn but the proportions seem a bit different to me. The barn was being prepared for a wedding when I visited, but I was allowed in to take a quick photo.
