MEDIEVAL HOUSES AND THE TIMBER-FRAMED TRADITION IN NEWCASTLE
External Partner: English Heritage, Newcastle
Medieval Newcastle developed within its town walls, around its castle, public buildings, churches and monastic institutions. The evidence for the houses of the town is not extensive but sufficient is known for an attempt to be made to present an holistic study, probably in two phases.
The first stage (suitable for an undergraduate dissertation) would be to create an inventory of medieval buildings, by collating the evidence that emerges from archaeological excavations, documentary and illustrative evidence (including early photographs) and the few standing buildings. There is scope here for both desk-based research and practical, on-site building recording. The resultant inventory will mostly contain information on timber-framed buildings, complemented by higher-status stone houses, such as survive at Trinity House.
That second phase of this enquiry (suitable for a master’s level dissertation, or PhD research) would attempt to place the evidence for Newcastle’s medieval town houses in some sort of national context, drawing on national and town-based studies of medieval town houses, regional timber-framed building studies and vernacular building research. It would also draw on architectural history and regional social and economic history.
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