The home of the average worker consisted of wooden
supports
with spaces consisting
of a mixture of material called wattle and
daub. The lumber was mostly
oak, purchased from a lumber-jack or cut down by the family. The wattle of the house
consisted of mainly willow or oak sticks woven together to form a type of mesh which
stood up to
all the elements and provided some sort of insulation in the winter. The daub was
applied to the wattle to seal it and make it waterproof. Daub was made from mud,
clay, horsehair, and the dung of the animals in the area. The floor was dirt,
covered by a layer of reeds which provided some cushioning for the tired workers'
feet. The roof was made of a similar type of woven reed/daub combination or shingles
made of wood or slate . It was usually sturdy as well as waterproof. These
homes, however, were not known for their durability or security. Thieves often broke
into the home by digging and cutting holes through one of the walls, because it was
much easier
and quieter than trying to break through the locked door. The house could either be
one or two stories high, and if there was a second floor, it was usually a loft or
attic of some kind, used mainly for storage and occasionally for sleeping.
A cooking fire of peat or wood burned
drearily day and night in a clearing in the middle of the dirt floor.
The smoke seeped out through
an opening
in the roof, called a louvre, allowed the smoke to escape. In almost
every craftsmen's home, from
where most of them distributed their goods, there was a large frontal window with
two horizontal shutters, which folded out to create an awning and a small counter to
sell their items from. It was much less expensive to be a craftsmen if you did not
have to pay for the additional expense of another separate building to work in.
to see the VRML world
depicting an average
house in the town.