Sunday 18 March 2012

Cotswold Houses (2)

The Tudor House
This is a privately owned house, belonging to our friends. It is not open to the public, but they have very kindly agreed that I can feature it on this post.
It is not your typical Cotswold stone house, but one of a number of Tudor timber framed houses that tend to be found in the lower lying Cotswold vale.
The house is built on a floodplain, and many of the later houses built in the vale have suffered from ingress of water during times of flooding. However, the medieval builders of this property took the added precaution of raising the level of the ground imperceptibly before building the house. When other properties are flooded this little gem, sits, as if on an island surrounded by water, but keeps its feet nice and dry; a salutary lesson from our forefathers.
The same is true of Tewkesbury Abbey built in 1090. During recent flooding in 2007, the worse in recorded British history, Tewkesbury Abbey also remained dry as if it too was on its own little island.
courtesy Daily Mail
This first floor window is thought to have been taken from the stern of a Tudor galleon. However, our friends think that the window was most likely built for the house by someone who was a shipwright by trade. It was a transferable skill, Tudor galleons were built of wooden frames as were Tudor houses.
Can you see the Mistletoe growing on the tree in the background? For some reason it flourishes here in the Cotswold Vales.
The original back entrance
This Cotswold stone building was the dairy. 
Lets venture inside now, and have a look at some of the interesting features.
In this photograph, I am standing on the second staircase, which was installed during the extension of 1700. This shows what would have been the outside of the original house. Here again, it is possible to see a galleon style window, which because it is now indoors has been filled in. 
The hand carved graffiti in one of the bedrooms was probably done by a Stonemason who worked on the extension. 
A beam in the late 18th century extension showing a carving dated 1785.
carved ceiling beams in the older part of the house.
These two pictures show the wattle and daub used for infilling between the timbers. Part of the wall has been exposed and covered with glass. Wattle and daub was a mix of woven split wooden sticks, mud, animal dung, and straw. It was relatively easy to extend a Tudor house, you just added more frames to the front, back, sides or top as you needed.
The inside walls show how the timber structure was used in the construction of the house.
This stairway was put in to the original part of the house when an upper storey was installed. To ascend and descend these stairs is a challenge even when sober. 
Sitting room fireplace
Dining room fireplace
The original Tudor house would have been what was known as a Hall house with a central open hearth with the smoke leaving through a hole in the roof. These two fireplaces would have been a new feature heralding the decline of the Hall houses.
Interesting door furniture has a leather thong to raise and lower the latch.
A nicely carved wooden pull on the other side of the door.
The well is medieval and was in use up until 1930. Most Tudor houses had no sanitary facilities. Water had to be brought from the nearest well and any slops or human waste were just thrown out of the windows! This of course encouraged vermin like rats and mice which led to health problems such as cholera, plague and dysentery.
I cannot resist showing you our friends gorgeous dogs, and how beautifully they harmonise with the house!
It is interesting to reflect on all the lives that have lived in this house over the past almost 500 years. If only it could speak to us.
Very many thanks to our friends for kindly allowing me to show you their beautiful home.


Cotswold Houses (1) here

36 comments:

  1. I have read your post with the most of interest. A beautiful house with a lot of history. Thanks for sharing.
    gr. Marijke

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    1. Dear Marijke - I am very pleased that you found the house of interest, and I agree, it is a beautiful house that oozes history. Thank you for your comment.

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  2. Such.a.beautiful.tudor..framed..house.
    i.do.believe..i.must.make.a.visit.to.your.lovley.area.of.the.world.
    your.friends.home.is.so.very.traditionally.English..its.charming.
    your.photography.of.the.rooms..and.the.history.is.amazing.
    beautiful.dogs..they.look.like.border.collies!±
    i.enjoyed.this.post.Thank.you.Rosemary.
    val

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    1. Dear Val - Yes, you must make a visit to our area. I am pleased you enjoyed seeing this historic house, and I do believe you are right about the dogs being border collies. I notice that you are still having trouble with your space bar, but you seem to be managing it well. Enjoy Sunday with your family. It is Mother's Day here, I do not know whether it is the same with you in Portugal, either way, enjoy your Sunday.

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    2. happy.mothers.day.Rosemary.
      ours.is.on.another.day,but.thank.you..after.all.i.am.enlgish.

      my.son.manel.is.posting.me.a.new.keyboard.express.from.lisbon.tomorrow..yippie.
      i.do.so.enjoy.reading.your.blogs.Rosemary.

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    3. What very good news Val that your son is sending you a new keyboard. He sounds to be a very good son. Yes, as you are English you can have two Mother's Days, why not. H has just gone out to buy the Sunday paper and then he is going to pack a picnic and we shall take a walk along the side of the canal in the valley.

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  3. Another great post!
    What a beautiful house and I agree if it only could speak to us.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Wish you a wonderful Sunday.
    Mette

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    1. Dear Mette - your comments are great - thank you very much, I really appreciate them. Pleased that you enjoyed our friends beautiful home and that they allowed me to share it with you.
      Have a good Sunday too.

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  4. A truly gorgeous house, Rosemary and your photos are fantastic. I know the Cotswolds quite well as my mother-in-law lives there and we live in a part of wales with many fine half-timbered houses.

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    1. Thank you for your visit and I am pleased you like the house. I am truly grateful to you for mentioning about the problems with Blogger on your site, I was wasting so much time trying to find out what was wrong.

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  5. A living history. Wonderful to see it so well preserved. Even the extensions are older than the first white settlement in our country. Your photos are wonderful Rosemary. You may find you also love macro photography if you experiment.

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    1. Yes, this house must seem very old in comparison with Australia. I am pleased that you enjoyed seeing it. I do try macro photography but I am not totally successful with it. Perhaps my camera could be better. I only have a point and shoot digital one. Thanks for your advice which I appreciate.

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    2. I don't have a DSLR either. I have a super zoom which is basically a fancy point and shoot. Recently I bought a small macro conversion lens which fits the camera with the addition of an adaptor ring. Sometimes my children take amazing macros with their pocket point and shoot cameras, they just try things I wouldn't have thought of.

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    3. I have been practising and some of the results are on the latest post. Your photos have really encouraged me to try harder. The details you can get with these little digital cameras is really amazing.

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  6. Hello Rosemary
    Your photos are beautiful, and having read your comment on my site ( I have so much to thanks Perpetua for ) I have enjoyed looking through your postings. Helleborus had me completely hooked. I have a stunning one ( no idea what variety) that brings life to my little Yorkshire garden when nothing else is showing any sign of stirring. So I'm looking forward to dropping in again. best wishes Janice

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    1. Dear Janice - thanks for your visit. I agree, I am totally grateful to Perpetua, I was spending so much time trying to find out what the problem was, and thinking that it was me. I am pleased you enjoyed seeing the Helleborus, I love them and have several different types and colour. Looking forward to you dropping in again. Have a happy Mother's Day.

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  7. Dear Rosemary, How fortunate we are to get a glimpse into this beautiful home. The hands that worked every wall, every beam, every floor, in fact everything which completes this house, are very evident. Thanks for sharing, your photographs tell the history beautifully.

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    1. Dear Gina - it was my pleasure to show this historic house, and I am so pleased that you enjoyed seeing it. When my friend was taking me round, she said that it had made her appreciate the house again.

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  8. Hello Rosemary:
    Your friends' house is so attractive and full of interesting historical details. What fun, as you say, to reflect upon the many lives which have been touched by that house over the centuries. Your friends must feel that they are custodians of a slice of Cotswold history!

    When we lived in Herefordshire, we lived just outside the village of Weobley which is famous for its black and white cottages. As it happens, in that particular part of the country,in Mediaeval times the cottages were 'red' and black, the 'red' parts being such a colour due to staining with animal blood.

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    1. Hello Jane and Lance - Yes, I have seen black and white houses that still use the red colour. However, I did not realise that it was due originally to staining caused by animal blood. Thank you for that information, it is the sort of thing that I am really interested to know about.

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  9. Wow! Awesome house! You did a wonderful job of photographing it and explaining all of the photos! It would be so cool to live in a house 500 years old! If those walls could speak...

    I, too, live on a floodplain, so I can relate to that. Unfortunately for us, the flood proofing (raising the land around the house) wasn't done until after it flooded. It looks a little odd, but it appears to be working. ;)

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    1. Dear Marie - thank you for your lovely comment. Yes, it must be amazing to live in a house that is so old. It would really make you want to know about all the people that had been there before you.
      That is really interesting that you live on a floodplain. It just goes to show how knowledgeable our ancestors were that they knew the best way to cope with that situation, and we are only just finding out now.

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  10. So impressing to see this Tudor house!
    History at its best!

    ♥ Franka

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    1. Dear Franka - Delighted that you enjoyed seeing this Tudor house belonging to our friends. I wonder if the houses built today will survive so long.

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  11. Rosemary, this is such an exciting post, with so much history that is both of human interest and architectural. I hope your friends know how much interest this generates, and how appreciative we are. The whole place has much charm. I'm quite taken by that substantial chimney!

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    1. Mark - I am really delighted that you found the post of such interest. Yes, I shall make sure that my friends take a look at the comments.
      I was very enthusiastic when I was going around the house taking photos, and as I mentioned to Gina, my friend said that it had given her a renewed interest and appreciation of their house.
      You are right about the substantial size of the chimney. I suspect it is because both of the fireplaces are very large and are back to back. So glad that you appreciated it.

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  12. How lovely! And interesting! Think about all those people going up and down stairs, in and out doors,given birth to, dying, and everything in between in this house! We also have an old house, our second home, that was established in 1794. In the storehouse a beam is carved with the year 1798, and the barn has a dry wall were it is carved the year 1830. This is old, but rather new compared to your friends home (I am living in Norway)

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    1. Dear Lise - those are my thoughts exactly. All the things that have happened in the house - sad, and happy so much emotion hidden within its walls.
      Your house sounds to be interesting too, perhaps you could do a post on some of its features sometime - that would be good.

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  13. i'm so glad your friends allowed you to show us their wonderful home. and it's fascinating structure.

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    1. I had a lovely time going round the house and taking the photos - so pleased that you enjoyed seeing them. I agree, it was very kind of our friends to allow me to do so.

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  14. That's so interesting and the pics you have taken are wonderful. I feel really privileged to see the inside as it is not open to the public... Thank you and your friends! Christa

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    1. Dear Christa - thank you, and I am pleased that you enjoyed seeing our friends house. I have told them to look in the comments so hopefully they will see what you have written.

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  15. Thank you for these amazing photos, Rosemary. We know the house well, and, like you, the owners, who are very valued friends! You have a wide-ranging blogspot which brings interest and joy to folk all over the world. So glad you told us about it when we met. A & T

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    1. Thanks very much for your visit - 'A' said that you would be having a look. I am so pleased you liked the post on their house, and also Wherefivevalleysmeet. Do visit again.

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  16. Just came across you blog . . . And am loving these picture!!! They are wonderful . . . So completely magical!! Just wanted to let you know . . .
    I'll be back to see more : ) ~ Marica

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    1. Dear Marica - Thank you very much for your visit. I am so pleased that you enjoyed seeing the photos. Yes, please do come back again.
      I am about to pop over and see your blog.

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