Even during the decades prior to the internal combustion engine, when steam powered traction engines were used to industrialize the process of farming, horse power and ox power were still the primary forms of propulsion and traction. The stable building was as important to the farmer then as a tractor workshop is nowadays, it was here that the farm's horses were housed when not working. In lofted examples like this one often the granary was upstairs, this dry weatherproof environment was ideal for storing the high energy food required by the working horses on the farm as part of their daily ration. This corner building could just as easily be a stable block outside or alongside many a building in the pre-petrol age. Stables were found in the country villages, towns and even in back courts (cul-de-sac) of city streets.