Timber Supply and Timber Building in a Sussex Parish

This paper questions the commonly held view that the quality and number of timber framed houses in a district reflects the local availability of standing timber. A case history is provided from records and standing buildings of the parish of Warminghurst (Sussex). The settlement history and forms of tenure are summarized. It is then shown from written evidence that, while there was much standing timber in the Middle Ages and later, the policy of landlords from the 15th century, if not earlier, was to treat that timber as their private resource and to encourage tenant builders to re-use material from demolished buildings. That evidence is confirmed by a brief examination of houses and farm buildings surviving from the 15th to the early 18th century

Archaeology · Business · Resource (disambiguation · Settlement (finance · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · Historical Architecture and Urbanism · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Finance

• From Trees To Timbers

  Peter Varlow•Vernacular Architecture•2015

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