Editing Architecture of England (section)

=== Vernacular architecture ===
[[File:Hall - Alfriston Clergy House - Alfriston, East Sussex, England - DSC05105.jpg|thumb|Hall in [[Alfriston Clergy House]], 14th-century]]
Little survives of the [[vernacular architecture]] of the medieval period due to the use of perishable materials for the great majority of buildings. Most domestic buildings were built on [[timber framing|timber frames]], usually with [[wattle and daub]] infill. Roofs were typically covered with [[thatching|thatch]]; wooden [[roof shingle|shingles]] were also employed, and from the 12th century [[tile]] and [[slate]] came into use in some areas.<ref name=ServiceAngloCh4/>  Also around the 12th century, the [[cruck]] frame was introduced, increasing the size of timber-framed vernacular buildings.<ref name=ServiceAngloCh4/> Typically, larger houses of this period were based around a [[great hall]] open from floor to roof. One bay at each end was split into two storeys and used for service rooms and private rooms for the owner.<ref name=Quiney>{{Cite book |title=Period Houses, a guide to authentic architectural features |year=1989 |isbn=0-540-01173-8 |last=Quiney |first=Anthony |publisher=George Phillip |location=London}}</ref>  Even quite high up the social scale houses were small by modern standards, except for the very wealthy.<ref>Aslet and Powers, 15</ref>

Buildings surviving from this period included [[moat]]ed [[manor house]]s of which [[Ightham Mote]] is a notable late medieval example, and [[Wealden hall house]]s such as [[Alfriston Clergy House]].  [[Tintagel Old Post Office]] is a 14th-century manor house in a part of the country where stone was the typical building material for better houses.  [[Little Moreton Hall]], a large manor house begun in 1504-08 and later extended, is a famous showpiece of decorative [[half-timbering]].<ref>Aslet and Powers, 13-15, 40</ref>  Near the dangerous Scottish border, the [[peel tower]] was a type of [[tower house]] or small castle; in Scotland they were even more common.  The [[bastle house]] was a two-storey version, continuing what had been a common form of house for the better-off across the country in the late Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods.<ref>Aslet and Powers, 20-24</ref>