\paperw5085 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs22 A common method of house construction in late medieval, Tudor and Jacobean times was \ATXnt901 timber-framing\ATXnt0
, whereby the building was supported by a framework of timber. Often built on a solid foundation of stone or brick, the timber framework was jointed together according to a standard plan. Usually the timbers were prefabricated at the carpenterÆs worksh
op and reassembled on site. A bulk of timber laid horizontally on the foundation provided all the various studs, posts, wall-plates and braces with the necessary stability. \ATXnt902 Houses\ATXnt0 built in this way could thus be jacked up and moved on
rollers, or dismantled and rebuilt. The filling between the timbers could be lath and plaster, wattle and daub (in other words branches covered with mud or clay) or brick. Upper storeys were jettied out in an overhang, thus providing extra space witho
ut incurring an increase in ground tax. Highly decorative effects were often achieved by carving the exposed timbers. However, when supplies of timber began to diminish and brick manufacture began to improve, timber-framing slowly declined.\par
