Day 6. Timber-Framed Houses: The Final Touches.

The timber panels were filled with vertical oak staves, which  were slotted into holes bored into the timber then slid into a groove on the opposite member. These grooves and holes can sometimes be seen on timbers reused elsewhere.
The staves were woven with flexible laths of hazel or willow, then coated with daub – a mixture of mud, dung and straw. This was then plastered.

A floor timber in a cowshed on Park Farm, built in the 19^th century. The groove indicates this timber once formed part of a wattle-and-daub wall frame. The joint and wooden pegs where other timbers were joined are visible.

The timbers were intended as an artistic feature as well as a structural one, and the builders went to great lengths to make their houses beautiful. Walls of close studding – upright timbers placed close together – were favoured by wealthier builders, especially at the front of the house. Large square panels, using less timber and therefore much cheaper, were used at the back.

Decorative framing – creating elaborate patterns with the timber – was a mark of prestige reserved for the wealthiest builders. Locke's Farm and The Old Manor are the only surviving examples in Preston.

                                            Locke's Farm.

The timber-framing, lauded as a quaint historical feature today, was often plastered over to preserve the timbers, especially where the timber was not intended as a decorative feature. If left exposed, they were weathered to a natural grey.

The trademark black-and-white colouring is largely a relic of the Victorian era. Pitch, a by-product of industrial processes, was used as a permanent colouring and also aided preservation.
But that said, elaborate timber-framing was sometimes painted in bright colours by the builders  to better display their work, and some examples of black and white colouring were found as far back as the 1570s.

                                                Locke's Farm, late 19^th century.

From the 17^th century, brick was used to infill the panels. Sometimes the original wattles were replaced. An inspection of the timbers for the presence of holes and grooves for the staves may determine if the bricks are original, although the timbers may of course have been reused at some point.