Was Hagrid's hut built specifically for him?

Question

I came across Why did Hagrid live in a hut?, and now I am wondering whether the hut was built specifically for Hagrid, like how the Whomping Willow was specifically planted due to Lupin attending Hogwarts?

Answer 1

It’s unclear, but it’s not obviously built for someone Hagrid’s size.

It’s never mentioned whether Hagrid’s hut was built specifically for Hagrid. The hut itself doesn’t seem obviously Hagrid-sized, either - from the outside it’s described as a small wooden house.

“At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 8 (The Potions Master)}}

Inside the hut doesn’t seem to be unusually large in size either, though the objects in his hut are indeed clearly all sized specifically for Hagrid’s use, like his bed.

“There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire and in a corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

‘Make yerselves at home,’ said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 8 (The Potions Master)}}

His bed, table, and chairs are all described as large, but the size of the hut itself or the room inside aren’t similarly said to be large, though it’s certainly big enough to fit all the Hagrid-sized furniture.

“Hagrid’s cabin comprised a single room, in one corner of which was a gigantic bed covered in a patchwork quilt. A similarly enormous wooden table and chairs stood in front of the fire, beneath the quantity of cured hams and dead birds hanging from the ceiling.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 16 (The Goblet of Fire)}}

The hut itself doesn’t really give any clues as to whether it was built specifically for Hagrid, as it seems to be a normal sized building. The Hagrid-sized objects could have either been placed in the hut once Hagrid was going to move in, or the hut could have been constructed for him and the objects were placed at the time it was built. There’s really no clear indication.

It may be the gamekeeper’s hut, it’s unknown where others lived.

There’s a possibility that Hagrid’s hut is simply the gamekeeper’s hut, where the Hogwarts gamekeepers have typically lived, and therefore would have existed before Hagrid took over the position. It’s not confirmed, though - at one point Hagrid’s hut is called the gamekeeper’s hut, but that could also be because Hagrid is the gamekeeper and it’s his hut.

“When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper’s hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called, ‘Who is it?’ before he let them in and then shut the door quickly behind them.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 14 (Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback)}}

There were gamekeepers at Hogwarts before Hagrid, so the position itself existed before Hagrid, but we don’t know where they lived, so we don’t know if the hut is for the gamekeeper or if the hut is specifically for Hagrid and previous gamekeepers had lived somewhere else.

“Mrs Weasley was intrigued by the Whomping Willow, which had been planted after she had left school, and reminisced at length about the gamekeeper before Hagrid, a man called Ogg.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 31 (The Third Task)}}

There’s nothing that really confirms or implies one of the possibilities is more likely correct, as there’s no mention of the hut either existing before Hagrid or being built for him.