| In an age and in areas where timber was readily available, it was naturally the material of choice for building. Log cabins, along with hovels of turf, probably afforded shelter to the majority of people in the early Middle Ages, short-lived but easily replaced. From the 14th Century, more substantial construction methods produced longer lasting results. Frames of sawn timber were jointed and pegged, which allowed movement as timbers shifted, shrank or warped, without bringing down the entire structure. |
| Purton Green Farm is a restored medieval house, with an open hall at one end and chambers on two floors at the other. The upper floor is jettied, which helped to strengthen the structure. The shape and position of doors and windows is dictated by the square-frame timber uprights. There is no chimney, the smoke from the open fire escaping through the thatched roof. | |
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An early alternative to the square-framed construction was the cruck frame. The crucks were formed from massive naturally curved timbers, split in two, the halves used to create an A frame extending from the ground to the apex of the roof. A series of such A frames were used for houses of several bays. Additional timbers provided for vertical external walls, but the structure hung on the cruck frame. |
Simple upright timbers were most common in the East, while squared frame-work is more common in the West, but both styles could be used together. The usual infill between the timbers was wattle and daub (a mixture of clay, straw, horsehair and cow manure plastered onto woven laths of willow or hazel) which was then painted with limewash.
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When bricks became available they were first used as infills for timber frames, in place of the wattle and daub.
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In areas with strong maritime connections, there was a tradition of using tarred ships timbers for building, creating a vivid black and white style, which was copied extensively by the Tudor-style revival of the 20th Century. However, normal untreated oak weathers to a silvery colour, giving a much light-coloured frame. Although most surviving half-timbering is now exposed, for aesthetic appeal, at the time of construction it would probably have been covered by limewash or even plaster, to give greater protection from the weather.
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In the East, as timber supplies declined, grander houses began to be built of other materials such as brick or stone, but in the West exposed timber framing continued to be used, with braces and panels added for purely decorative effect, as with the spectacular example of The Feathers, in Ludlow.. |
