We have seen earlier that the transition from earthfoot timber-framed structures to sill-mounted structures and therefore a permanent framed building of box-frame construction occurred in England between about 1150 and 1250. As the name implies, box-frame construction consists of a box-like framework in which the roof load is distributed along the supporting walls, unlike cruck […]

wall-frame often had strokes cut above the numerals, indicating which floor they related to – one stroke for the first floor, two strokes for the second and so on. In some cases, as at the Ancient High House, Stafford, Arabics were used. These identification marks enabled work­men to sort the timbers easily prior to erection. […]

With the timbers so prepared, it was necessary to cut the joints. The jointing system was, of course, of major importance in all timber­framed construction, the old carpenters bringing an astonishing degree of skill and ingenuity to the execution of their work. Joints were either mortice-and-tenon, half-lap or scarf. The mortice-and-tenon was the most important […]

Oak was the timber predominantly used in timber-framed construc­tion, for its strength and resistance to rot were unrivalled, and if it was allowed to dry naturally, it actually improved and hardened with age. Of the other timbers, elm is most commonly met, for when grown in woodland conditions it grew taller than oak and was […]

Until some four hundred years ago, timber was the principal building material in England, with the possible exception of Cornwall, a county not well supplied with trees suitable for timber construction (even here, however, we can find some timber-framed houses, for instance at Launceston). Even in those areas, such as the Cotswolds and Derbyshire, where […]