The stage is unique among British and North American outbuildings because unlike the typical uses of agricultural structures, both the slaughter and the processing of a harvested animal takes place within this space. While barns and stables were intended for year-round housing of live animals, the stage would be used only for several months during the summer, and not as a shelter for livestock. Gerald L. Pocius, "The House that Poor-Jack Built: Architectural Stages in the Newfoundland Fishery" published in: Larry McCann with Carrie MacMillan, eds. The Sea and Culture of Atlantic Canada (Sackville: Centre for Canadian Studies, Mount Allison University , 1992), pp. 62-105.
