Hay is long grass and wildflowers that have been dried to be used for animal food in winter.

Once a common sight in the contryside, ricks/stacks were used to store large amounts of hay in the fields. These were thatched to protect them from the winter weather.

To make hay the long grass was cut and then dried in the field in cocks (small piles).

It was then taken by horse and cart, or hay sweep to where the rick was to be located and the carefully stacked.

Once the rick was complete it was thatched with wheat or rye straw. The straw was secured to the rick using twine tied to short pegs knocked directly into the hay.

Ricks could be used to store a range of crops including hay or starw. They had different shapes and styles depending on the type of crop and the region of the contry. In the Chilterns, hay ricks were usually oblong with gable (vertical) ends.

Bales of hay were cut from the hay rick the following winter using a hay knife to provide winter feed for animals. This process was known as hay trussing.

Ricks became redundant in the mid twentieth century as it took many farm labours a long time to build them and more economical ways of storing the crops were found.