In several counties where there is little stone and large
forests of timber we find the timber-framed dwelling flourishing in
all its native beauty. In Surrey there are several materials for
building, hence there is a charming diversity of domiciles. Even the
same building sometimes shows walls of stone and brick, half-timber
and plaster, half-timber and tile-hanging, half-timber with panels
filled with red brick, and roofs of thatch or tiles, or stone slates
which the Horsham quarries supplied.
[Illustration: Timber-built House, Shrewsbury]
[Illustration]
These Surrey cottages have changed with age. Originally they were
built with timber frames, the panels being filled in with wattle and
daub, but the storms of many winters have had their effect upon the
structure. Rain drove through the walls, especially when the ends of
the wattle rotted a little, and draughts were strong enough to blow
out the rushlights and to make the house very uncomfortable. Oak
timbers often shrink. Hence the joints came apart, and being exposed
to the weather became decayed. In consequence of this the buildings
settled, and new methods had to be devised to make them weather-proof.
The villages therefore adopted two or three means in order to attain
this end. They plastered the whole surface of the walls on the
outside, or they hung them with deal boarding or covered them with
tiles.
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