English Late-Medieval timber-framed architecture
Welcome
The aim of this site is to aid research into British medieval architecture, especially Late-Medieval carpentry and the open hall through the medium of Buildings Archaeology coupled with Digital Archaeology.
Academic papers are offered alongside detailed information on the 'Devizes Heads' and Late-Medieval carpentry joints in Hampshire.
We offer the viewer an insight into certain elements of English Late-Medieval architecture, mainly focusing on timber-framed construction methods in central southern England. In particular we will explore, through digital technologies, the joints employed by medieval carpenters to frame a structure and their chrono-typologies. The study is based on solid dates derived from dendrochronological investigations (tree-ring dating) and the influences, if any,of the 'Black Death' (1348-50). We will also report on the medieval corbel heads c.AD1408-30 from Devizes (Wiltshire), employing virtual technologies to explore the techniques of their manufacture and medieval carpentry.
PhD Research
Richard Haddlesey is presently actively involved in surveying timber-framed properties in Hampshire between AD1244 and 1530.
He has found many interesting joints and he is in the process of writing his thesis and modelling the joints. As a result this website will constantly evolve and be updated. Not all the data can be published here until after the thesis is submitted, but he is more than happy to talk with any interested parties regarding his work. Please feel free to email Richard with questions and suggestions.
The role of the house in society is a theme which transcends the period boundaries.
Approximately 108 timber-framed medieval buildings have been dendrochronologically dated to between AD1244 and 1530 in Hampshire. As part of Richards doctoral research, an extensive survey has been carried out on these buildings to record the different types of carpentry joints used in their construction; these joints have then been grouped, by type, to provide a chronology used by medieval carpenters. The survey currently stands at 97% due to a lack of response by some property owners. Although his project is heavily informed by scientific dating methods (dendrochronology) theory is also an important component. Once the chrono-typologies have been produced and cross- referenced with regard to Cecil Hewett's Essex data (English Historic Carpentry Hewett 1980), the effects, if any, of the Black Death (1348-50) on medieval carpentry techniques and technologies, used in central southern England, can be analysed.