Schofield/London, 4. Houses, daily life and neighbourhoods

Throughout the period 1100 to 1600, the majority of secular buildings in the London area were timber-framed, that is built of wooden frames infilled with a variety of smaller timbers, laths, plaster and earth, and later brick; and partly because of this, as well as because of the frequent rebuilding, there are only a handful of examples surviving today. But study of the available information in documents, drawings and excavations is showing that houses can reveal much about the life conducted in and around them. This discussion looks first at developments in the plans of houses, and then tightens the focus of enquiry to some aspects of individual rooms and spaces, decoration and materials. Because of the heavy bias of information towards the central conurbation in the Middle Ages (the City, Westminster and Southwark), the first section is itself divided into a comparatively detailed treatment of the conurbation, followed by an outline of some of the developments in rural housing