"Tudor" architecture is associated with the half timbered style with dark or black beams and plaster. This was achieved by filling the spaces in between the wooden framework with a lattice of woven sticks and "daubing" this with a combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw. Binders hold the mix together and can include clay, lime, chalk dust and limestone dust.
This method has been used for at leat 6000 years, and is becoming popular again today in sustainable building techniques. You can usually tell a historic building from a "Tudor revival" house - the "copied" buildings have white plaster in between the beams, whereas the historical wattle and daub tends to be yellow or ochre.
All in all what is now defined as "Tudor architecture" is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period 1485 - 1603. The building style did not change abruptly in the following Stuart reign.
This method has been used for at leat 6000 years, and is becoming popular again today in sustainable building techniques. You can usually tell a historic building from a "Tudor revival" house - the "copied" buildings have white plaster in between the beams, whereas the historical wattle and daub tends to be yellow or ochre.
All in all what is now defined as "Tudor architecture" is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period 1485 - 1603. The building style did not change abruptly in the following Stuart reign.
Another prominent feature of medieval Tudor building style is the four centered arch or "Tudor arch". This a low, wide type of arch with a pointed apex. It is much wider than its height and gives the visual effect of having been flattened under pressure. Its structure is achieved by drafting two arcs which rise steeply from each springing point on a small radius and then turn into two arches with a wide radius and much lower springing point.
The painting to the left shows the front doorway to Sutton Place, Surrey, c. 1525, in shape of Four-centred Tudor arch (imaginary Tudor scene by Nash, c. 1840)
The painting to the left shows the front doorway to Sutton Place, Surrey, c. 1525, in shape of Four-centred Tudor arch (imaginary Tudor scene by Nash, c. 1840)
A distinctive feature of Tudor buildings are prominent cross gables. A gable is the triangle formed by a sloping roof. A building may be front-gabled or side-gabled. Some houses are cross-gabled--They have gables both on the front and on the side. Porches and dormers may also be gabled. A fine example of the style of architecture is the Tudor House Museum, Southampton (Photograph © Paul Gillett) Tudor architecture is also known for steeply pitched roofs, covered with clay or stone tiles. Many older Tudors’ houses though had thatched roofs.
The Tudor period saw the arrival of the chimney stack, and enclosed hearths resulted in the decline of the great hall based around an open hearth which was typical of earlier medieval architecture. You could now have fireplaces upstairs, and it became possible to have a second storey that ran the whole length of the house. Tudor chimney-pieces were made large and elaborate to draw attention to the owner's adoption of this new technology - a beautiful example are the chimneys at Hampton Court (originally built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it.) shown in the photo seen left.
Tudor homes had tall, narrow casement windows with small window panes. It was during the Tudor times that glass was first used in homes.
To make a pane of glass was a time consuming and painstaking process which made the use of glass so expensive. A blob of glass was blown into a cylinder-shaped bubble which was placed on a cooling table. When the bubble of glass cooled it was then cut in half producing a small piece. The small pieces of glass for the windows of 15th and 16th century houses were joined together with lead. The leaded window panes were constructed in a in a criss-cross or ‘lattice’, pattern and became a feature of 15th and 16th century Houses. The design was a casement windows. Casement windows were attached to a hinge which opened outwards.
People who couldn't afford glass used wooden shutters, polished horn, cloth or even paper.
You can see a wonderful example of a Tudor style glass window in the photo to the right (Source: Liam Quin "A Day at Rufford Old Hall")
To make a pane of glass was a time consuming and painstaking process which made the use of glass so expensive. A blob of glass was blown into a cylinder-shaped bubble which was placed on a cooling table. When the bubble of glass cooled it was then cut in half producing a small piece. The small pieces of glass for the windows of 15th and 16th century houses were joined together with lead. The leaded window panes were constructed in a in a criss-cross or ‘lattice’, pattern and became a feature of 15th and 16th century Houses. The design was a casement windows. Casement windows were attached to a hinge which opened outwards.
People who couldn't afford glass used wooden shutters, polished horn, cloth or even paper.
You can see a wonderful example of a Tudor style glass window in the photo to the right (Source: Liam Quin "A Day at Rufford Old Hall")
The size and position of doorways in Tudor buildings were dictated by the practical requirements of access and construction. Tudor carved and plain door heads were of wood, stone or brick, and tended to be flat or four-centred (that is, in the form of a shallow arch that rises to a central point). Four centred heads sometimes had carved spandrels. The jambs often had stopped, chamfered mouldings, to protect and decorate the frame. Carved and Plain Door Hoodmolds or projecting carved or moulded cornices were cut over front doors and, during the 16th century, porches became popular. The heads of the handmade nails used on the plain or carved door construction were sometimes left exposed to give a decorative finish . Ordinary internal plain or carved doors were usually battened. Grander plain or carved doors were often lighter, comprising a framework with an infill of frequently carved wooden door panels. Door fittings were basic, except in the grandest houses.