Strong, sustainable and flexible, oak-frame buildings have their roots in prehistory. Yet this time-honoured method of building continues to thrive in the 21st century. Wood is perhaps the most ancient of all building materials.
In Britain, archaeologists have uncovered traces of timber-frame homes dating back 10,000 years. During the Middle Ages, the flexibility of timber as an easily worked, ubiquitous and — if properly protected from damp — resilient material encouraged its use in every sphere of construction, from bridges to houses and churches. Its portability also made it valuable for the battlefield and the creation of siege machines and fortifications.
The distinctive tradition of timber framing that developed as a consequence produced such architectural masterpieces as the 1390s roof of London’s Westminster Hall, its vast span seemingly supported on the backs of fluttering angels, or the great octagon over the crossing of Ely Cathedral. ‘These creations are a reminder that timber buildings in the Middle Ages could be every bit as spectacular as their stone counterparts,’ says Country Life’s Architectural Editor John Goodall. Timber was used to astonishing effect in more functional buildings, too, such as the Great Barn at Harmondsworth, Greater London, built by Winchester College in 1425–27.
‘It’s the largest timber-frame free-standing medieval building in the country,’ adds Dr Goodall. Most familiar of all, however, is the use of timber-framing i.