Table of Contents
- 1 What were houses like in the 1300s?
- 2 Did medieval houses have cellars?
- 3 Did medieval homes have living rooms?
- 4 What did houses look like in the 1700s?
- 5 What is the difference between a cellar and a basement?
- 6 How many medieval houses are still standing in England?
- 7 Are there any problems with a house built in 1953?
What were houses like in the 1300s?
ost medieval homes were cold, damp, and dark. Sometimes it was warmer and lighter outside the home than within its walls. For security purposes, windows, when they were present, were very small openings with wooden shutters that were closed at night or in bad weather.
Did medieval houses have cellars?
Beneath the house is an undercroft, or cellar, designed to store barrels of wine at a constant temperature; the brick floor is 18th-century in origin, however. This is an architectural feature found in several other English coastal and river medieval towns, including Winchester and London.
Did medieval homes have living rooms?
Medieval people didn’t have special rooms for sleeping, just a single living space for everything. In a great medieval hall like Penshurst Place in Kent, there weren’t enough separate rooms for all the servants, so the hall was used as a kind of dormitory with people sleeping on its floor at night.
How were basements built in the 1940s?
Early 1940s homes were built on a stem wall or piers, but the concrete slab-on-grade with a thickened edge that served as a foundation was the up-and-coming new technology of the end of the decade. Some homes still used continuous concrete footings and a block stemwall.
What were houses like in the 16th century?
In the 16th century, life was safer so houses no longer had to be easy to defend. In the late 16th century some people built or rebuilt their houses with a wooden frame filled in with bricks. Roofs were usually thatched though some well-off people had tiles. (In London all houses had tiles because of the fear of fire).
What did houses look like in the 1700s?
One popular style in the 1700s was the Georgian Colonial home. They were rectangle shaped homes that were symmetrical. They typically had windows across the front that were aligned both vertically and horizontally. They either had one large chimney in the center of the house or two chimneys, one on each end.
What is the difference between a cellar and a basement?
A true basement is below grade and can be half a level above the street. A cellar, on the other hand, is below ground. A basement may have windows.
How many medieval houses are still standing in England?
It used to be thought that only high-class houses had survived from the Medieval period. Radiocarbon and tree-ring dating has now revealed that thousands of ordinary Medieval homes are still standing in the English Midlands, many now incorporated into des res village homes.
Why is there a toilet in the basement of an old house?
It looks misplaced, even comical, but a random toilet in the basement of an old house once served a purpose. Usually found in pre-World War II era homes, this lone toilet looks odd not just because it’s in the basement, but because there is nothing around it to make it feel like a proper, private bathroom!
What are the different types of rooms in a medieval house?
Rooms in a medieval are largely recognisable by their modern counterparts in more modest homes. Kitchens are still kitchens. So are pantries and larders. So are cellars. Bed chambers are now known as bedrooms. Latrines have become lavatories and bathrooms.
Are there any problems with a house built in 1953?
For example, a home built in 1953 may have different problems from one built in 1920. In last week’s column, I discussed homes built from the end of the 19th century to the 1940s and specific areas of concern. This week, we’ll consider homes built in the 19th century and earlier.