Building record 68/6 - High Street, Hale

Grade II listed timber framed cottage, dated 1665 with initials RE, and thatched roof. The interior has cruck trusses, bevelled beams and heavy floor joists. A cruck is a beam used in timber framing. Two curved timbers that are cut from the same tree, used to support a roof, from floor to apex. Wood was in plentiful supply as a building material in Britain until the 17th century. It was therefore the most practical material for house building. Timber framed buildings consist of a wooden framework (usually oak) that was infilled to created solid walls. Infill material used included wattle and daub, lath and plaster, brick and weather board. Brick nogging, (brick infill) was often used in the 17th and 18th centuries to replace earlier wattle and daub or lath and plaster infill as it was longer lasting.