A TYPICAL TWO-BAY OPEN HALL HOUSE

BETWEEN c1370 TO AS LATE AS c1640

IN WALES AND NORTHERN AND WESTERN ENGLAND

A front elevation of the Open Hall House with a two-bay Open Hall (shown elswhere in plan). Note the timbering scheme, including the curved braces which, by triangulation, give rigidity to the structure (in the same way as oblique members give stability to scaffolfding, or the triangles of a bicycle give rigidity with lightness). Note also the entrance doorway and the Hall window, there being one of each on the back wall. The white areas are the Infill Panels. The Parlour and the chamber above (right) would have been occupied by the family whilst the Service areas (left) would have been used for storage and the preparation of food ingredients. The roof would have been of thatch.

This image is reproduced with the kind permission of David and Barbara Martin who are associated with the Institute of Archaeology, University of London.