tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post994590390900006046..comments2024-03-25T15:10:13.792+00:00Comments on English Buildings: Singleton, West SussexPhilip Wilkinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-18811576567684934592013-02-17T17:38:49.425+00:002013-02-17T17:38:49.425+00:00Thanks Jon. Singing in Bayleaf. That I would like ...Thanks Jon. Singing in Bayleaf. That I would like to have heard. <br /><br />The W&D is a great place.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-965249992638038952013-02-17T17:36:44.655+00:002013-02-17T17:36:44.655+00:00Bingo! You've done it again Philip. The W&...Bingo! You've done it again Philip. The W&D is a fabulous place. It's fascinating to see what detective work has gone into identifying the most unlikely looking buildings, saving and dismantling them and then restoring them in their original beautiful form. To my mind it's one of the 'must visit' architectural sites in the South of England. We had the privilege of singing in Bayleaf on at least three occasions - so atmospheric with rush and candlelight at dusk. Thank you again for reminding us of the wonders out there. Jon Dudleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09717891707293701969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-44021574054671323812013-02-16T15:23:22.190+00:002013-02-16T15:23:22.190+00:00Joe: I think aesthetic preference was the main rea...Joe: I think aesthetic preference was the main reason for having curved braces - and maybe the fact that a carpenter might find these timbers and not have another good use for them. Looking at a selection of pictures of Wealden houses in books and online, quite a few have curved braces in the walls, but by no means all. One thing they nearly all share, though, is a pair of curving braces at the top of the centre section, where they help to support the roof where it crosses the inset central hall. These always seem to be curved.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-15744153718140059632013-02-16T15:19:05.715+00:002013-02-16T15:19:05.715+00:00Hels: Maybe my "middle classes" descript...Hels: Maybe my "middle classes" description was a bit misleading. They would have been quite well off, one rung below the lord of the manor and the priest socially. And their household might well have included several children, perhaps a grandparent or two, and some servants. So the house wouldn't have felt as spacious as it looked.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-64097245486022030332013-02-16T14:32:25.274+00:002013-02-16T14:32:25.274+00:00These beautiful curving cross-braces, so much more...These beautiful curving cross-braces, so much more attractive to my eye than straight diagonals, have me wondering about what lay behind this design. Aesthetic preference, I assume (unless there was some confusion with the engineering advantage of arch structures). And were curving lengths of oak harder to find, I wonder? Or easier, because they might grow that way but have fewer uses?Joe Treasurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452665782271458318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4228081722487474323.post-83741683341253614422013-02-15T23:49:37.297+00:002013-02-15T23:49:37.297+00:00"A Wealden house is a timber-framed building ..."A Wealden house is a timber-framed building with a central, double-height hall heated by a central hearth. On either side of the central hall are two-storey sections.." It would have been lovely for the family to live in a spacious, clean smelling home like Bayleaf. <br /><br />So here is my uncertainty. Would the 15th and 16th century families of the rural middle classes have hoped for all this spaciousness?Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.com