2024 01 Spring with bleed V4 - Flipbook - Page 48
HISTORY WITH
HEATHER
In Kings Nympton village there are some ancient
buildings, some are even older than parts of the
church. I9m talking about the old cob and thatched
farm houses, which are scattered around the
country side. They were built out of material that
could be found locally. The walls were made of
stone and cob, which was clay mixed with straw,
sometimes dung, lime and water. It was then
trodden by oxen and piled on to a stone base to
build up the walls which are generally 60cms thick.
Windows were small and deep set which produced the characteristic
appearance. They would not have contained glass at that time, only
wealthy people could afford that. Oak was used to frame the house and
support the roof by means of a pair of cruck beams in curved A frame
shapes. The roofs were thatched, and the underneath thatch always stayed
on when it was re thatched. I was lucky enough to have lived for twenty
years in a local farmhouse. Whilst there I was visited by experts who asked
if they could go into the roof to try to date the house by means of a
method of tree-ring dating which is known to be accurate. The result was
amazing. The beam in one of the bedrooms was taken from a tree felled in
1441. Think about it -that9s before Columbus found America, Australia was
discovered and Henry the eighth came to the throne! These houses when
orst built were rectangular in shape like a barn opening up to the
underneath of the thatched roof. They are known as