Devon is a good place to find vernacular ("rude", to you) architecture, my own house being partly of cob with a thatched roof. There are many farm buildings which show fascinating hand-made joints in the roof timbers that have withstood hundreds of years of weather - much better than most modern buildings!

I have included information on materials with articles about timber, stone, cob and thatch. I hope to include more photographs and extra detail, given time.

Photographed in 1929, this shows the simple and primitive accommodation used on Dartmoor even in quite recent times. The building is of granite rubble, and the steepness of the roof pitch indicates that it would have originally been thatched. This building is now gone.

Ash from the fires was taken out at night and stored in an ash-house, where sparks would not run the risk of setting fire to the thatch, a constant problem with this roofing material. Early ash-houses were round with a domed roof, with rectangular ones appearing in the 19th century. This particular one is unusually large, and has had a "staddle stone" added to the roof at some time.

A fairly typical set of 16th-17th century cottages, in the square at Drewsteignton. Only thatch can be neatly fitted as a roofing material to buildings of these awkward shapes! The method of roofing the lean-to extension is known, somewhat picturesquely, as a "catslide". (The lean on the church is partly due to my scanning, and partly due to the use of a wide-angle lense to take the photograph.)

This cottage was photographed in Throwleigh in 1890. The larger windows are beginning to replace the small panes, and the shallower roof probably indicates that this particular building has always been slated.

This is architecture for non-architects! Back in the days when you could build without consulting regulations or higher authorities, buildings were built with a mixture of styles and materials according to the local conditions and traditions; a place could be recognised by its buildings, unlike today when the same styles appear all over the country. Much the same comment can be made as I made for industrial archaeology - these buildings are part of our history: go out and photograph them NOW! And not just house, but barns, walls, sheds etc.

The Net does not seem to have a vast store of information on Vernacular Architecture in the UK that I can find. I will keep searching and put anything I find in here. In the meantime, here is a general US site which may be of interest, and also the Architecture Ring

The most useful book (for the UK) that I have come across is The Illustrated Handbook Of Vernacular Architecture by R.W. Brunskill - essential reading.

I like most kinds of architecture - I love Frank LLoyd Wright's "Fallingwater" - and have lived in houses from new to very old. Quite a lot of time and effort goes into getting your house up to the standard you require, and then keeping it there! (Not to mention money....)

There are some spectacular sites on Dartmoor, but it is impossible to get permission to build within the National Park unless you are extremely rich and/or lucky! Certainly, not to build like this!

Copyright © 1997 Roger Yeates
Latest amendment 7 February 1997