EXAMINING YOUR HOUSE
The previous use of this building as a chapel offers
clues to its history
House building styles
Here are example of houses built using local materialTake a look at the house itself starting with the exterior. Examine the front elevations to see if this looks different or later then the main structure. Look round the back of the house too as this is less likely than the front to have bene resurfaced.
Take a look at the general shape of the building. Until the 18th century most smaller houses were only one room deep. After this period house two rooms deep became popular.
Sometimes you can see that the front and rear walls have been raised to give more headroom, often the pitch of the roof is flattened. Sometimes the raising was done at the front only.
Look to see if the house has been extended. It is often easy to identify where there is a change of walling material or the windows may be of a later architectural period.
Check where the material to build the house may have come from. Is it local brick or stone? Materials were not transported long distances for ordinary houses until cheaper transport became available by canal, road or even rail.
Here are example of houses built using local materialTake a look at the house itself starting with the exterior. Examine the front elevations to see if this looks different or later then the main structure. Look round the back of the house too as this is less likely than the front to have bene resurfaced.
Take a look at the general shape of the building. Until the 18th century most smaller houses were only one room deep. After this period house two rooms deep became popular.
Sometimes you can see that the front and rear walls have been raised to give more headroom, often the pitch of the roof is flattened. Sometimes the raising was done at the front only.
Look to see if the house has been extended. It is often easy to identify where there is a change of walling material or the windows may be of a later architectural period.
Check where the material to build the house may have come from. Is it local brick or stone? Materials were not transported long distances for ordinary houses until cheaper transport became available by canal, road or even rail.
Timber Frame Houses
This was often the most common form of building technique for small and medium sized houses since Medieval times. Dating a timber frame building can be difficult due to the ease by which it could be altered over the years.
Cob Houses
Small houses and cottages could be made of this mix of chalk, mud and straw which was used since medieval times particularly in an areas where timber was scarce. As the predominant material was chalk it is more likely found in chalk downland areas.
The early Cob houses could be plastered and lime washed Cob was used until the nineteenth century by which time it was often faced with tiles or brickwork.
Walls of cob houses tend to be very thick and sometimes the corners rounded
Pebblestone Cottage Pebble walling is popular on the Norfolk coast but there are examples in Brighton, Worthing and many other seaside resorts. This curiosity is almost circular which might suggest it could have been a toll house but it is most likely a seaside retreat
|
Halliwells House Museum Stone Building
|
Stone Built Houses
Stone houses became more popular after the seventieth century. They could only be built when there was a plentiful supply of good stone or rubble such as quarries or where older substantial buildings have been demolished. Houses built of regular shaped stone were naturally more expensive than those built using locally sourced rubble. External walls could often be lime washed but later it was removed as it became fashionable to have stone faced homes
Stone houses became more popular after the seventieth century. They could only be built when there was a plentiful supply of good stone or rubble such as quarries or where older substantial buildings have been demolished. Houses built of regular shaped stone were naturally more expensive than those built using locally sourced rubble. External walls could often be lime washed but later it was removed as it became fashionable to have stone faced homes
Brick Built Houses
Brick have been used to build homes since the Romans introduced them but it was not until the 16th century that it became a popular choice of material.
Read more about the use of brick and see examples of the types of brick styles by clicking this link to Bricks Roofs
When examining a house to determine how old it is you have to bear in mind that roofs wear out far more frequently than external walls. It has been estimated that a tile or slate roof needs replacing every 100 years whilst thatch has an even shorter life. Also we have to consider that each time a roof is changed it is likely to be using cheaper or more modern materials. So you cannot always rely on what you see today.
From the medieval period most small houses were thatched or covered in shingles (slabs of oak made to look like tiles.
Tiles were first used in the South East of England around 1500. Pantiles appeared first in East Anglia around the seventeenth century
Slates were mostly used in areas where they were quarried. Mainly in Wales, the Lake district and Cornwall, But as transport , particularly rail became more available Welsh slate was transported to the whole country.xterior
Take a look at the house itself starting with the exterior. Examine the front elevations to see if this looks different or later then the main structure. Look round the back of the house too as this is less likely than the front to have bene resurfaced.
Take a look at the general shape of the building. Until the 18th century most smaller houses were only one room deep. After this period house two rooms deep became popular.
Sometimes you can see that the front and rear walls have been raised to give more headroom, often the pitch of the roof is flattened. Sometimes the raising was done at the front only.
Look to see if the house has been extended. It is often easy to identify where there is a change of walling material or the windows may be of a later architectural period.
Check where the material to build the house may have come from. Is it local brick or stone? Materials were not transported long distances for ordinary houses until cheaper transport became available by canal, road or even rail.
Brick have been used to build homes since the Romans introduced them but it was not until the 16th century that it became a popular choice of material.
Read more about the use of brick and see examples of the types of brick styles by clicking this link to Bricks Roofs
When examining a house to determine how old it is you have to bear in mind that roofs wear out far more frequently than external walls. It has been estimated that a tile or slate roof needs replacing every 100 years whilst thatch has an even shorter life. Also we have to consider that each time a roof is changed it is likely to be using cheaper or more modern materials. So you cannot always rely on what you see today.
From the medieval period most small houses were thatched or covered in shingles (slabs of oak made to look like tiles.
Tiles were first used in the South East of England around 1500. Pantiles appeared first in East Anglia around the seventeenth century
Slates were mostly used in areas where they were quarried. Mainly in Wales, the Lake district and Cornwall, But as transport , particularly rail became more available Welsh slate was transported to the whole country.xterior
Take a look at the house itself starting with the exterior. Examine the front elevations to see if this looks different or later then the main structure. Look round the back of the house too as this is less likely than the front to have bene resurfaced.
Take a look at the general shape of the building. Until the 18th century most smaller houses were only one room deep. After this period house two rooms deep became popular.
Sometimes you can see that the front and rear walls have been raised to give more headroom, often the pitch of the roof is flattened. Sometimes the raising was done at the front only.
Look to see if the house has been extended. It is often easy to identify where there is a change of walling material or the windows may be of a later architectural period.
Check where the material to build the house may have come from. Is it local brick or stone? Materials were not transported long distances for ordinary houses until cheaper transport became available by canal, road or even rail.
Roofs
When examining a house to determine how old it is you have to bear in mind that roofs wear out far more frequently than external walls. It has been estimated that a tile or slate roof needs replacing every 100 years whilst thatch has an even shorter life. Also we have to consider that each time a roof is changed it is likely to be using cheaper or more modern materials. So you cannot always rely on what you see today.
From the medieval period most small houses were thatched or covered in shingles (slabs of oak made to look like tiles.
Tiles were first used in the South East of England around 1500. Pantiles appeared first in East Anglia around the seventeenth century
Slates were mostly used in areas where they were quarried. Mainly in Wales, the Lake district and Cornwall, But as transport , particularly rail became more available Welsh slate was transported to the whole country.
When examining a house to determine how old it is you have to bear in mind that roofs wear out far more frequently than external walls. It has been estimated that a tile or slate roof needs replacing every 100 years whilst thatch has an even shorter life. Also we have to consider that each time a roof is changed it is likely to be using cheaper or more modern materials. So you cannot always rely on what you see today.
From the medieval period most small houses were thatched or covered in shingles (slabs of oak made to look like tiles.
Tiles were first used in the South East of England around 1500. Pantiles appeared first in East Anglia around the seventeenth century
Slates were mostly used in areas where they were quarried. Mainly in Wales, the Lake district and Cornwall, But as transport , particularly rail became more available Welsh slate was transported to the whole country.
