The aim of this lavishly illustrated book is to provide an in-depth study of the many medieval peasant houses still standing in Midland villages, and of their historical context. In particular, the combination of tree-ring and radiocarbon dating, detailed architectural study and documentary research illuminates both their nature and their status. The results are brought together to provide a new and detailed view of the medieval peasant house, resolving the contradiction between the archaeological and architectural evidence, and illustrating how its social organisation developed in the period before we have extensive documentary evidence for the use of space within the house.

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• List of Figures and Tables
• Part I: Analysis of the Medieval Peasant House
  • Conventions
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Sampling and dating of the surveyed houses (Nat Alcock, Dan Miles, Bob Laxton† and Cliff Litton)
  • 3 The planning and organisation of the surveyed houses
  • 4 The structure of the surveyed houses
    • Cross-section drawings of cruck, base-cruck, aisled and box-frame trusses
  • 5 The carpentry of the medieval house
  • 6 Documentary evidence
    • 6.1 Medieval peasant buildings 1250–1550: Documents and historical significance (Chris Dyer)
    • 6.2 Buckinghamshire and Long Crendon (Nat Alcock and John Chenevix Trench†)
    • 6.3 Medieval peasant houses in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire (Christopher Currie)
    • 6.4 Warwickshire and Leicestershire: Stoneleigh and Diseworth (Nat Alcock)
    • 6.5 The social setting of the base-cruck and aisled halls (Nat Alcock)
  • 7. Conclusions: The medieval peasant house in Midland England
• Part II: Examples of Medieval Peasant Houses
  • 8 Selected house reports
    • 8.1 AST-A: Aston Tirrold, The Cottage, Aston Street, Oxfordshire
    • 8.2 HBY-C: Harby, Home Farm, Leicestershire
    • 8.3 LNG-M: Long Marston, Hopkins, Wyre Lane, Warwickshire
    • 8.4 LON-C: Long Crendon, Church Green Cottage, 102–104 High Street, Buckinghamshire
    • 8.5 LON-G: Long Crendon, Sycamore Farm, 9 Bicester Road, Buckinghamshire
    • 8.6 MDM-A: Mapledurham, Mill Farm, Oxfordshire
    • 8.7 RAD-B. Radley, Baker’s Close, 104 Lower Radley, Oxfordshire
    • 8.8 ROT-D. Rothley, 91 Town Green Street, Leicestershire
    • 8.9 STC-B: Steeple Claydon, Rhenold’s Close, 28 North End Road, Buckinghamshire
    • 8.10a STE-B: Steventon, Tudor House, 67 The Causeway, Oxfordshire
    • 8.10b STE-D: Steventon, 71 The Causeway, Oxfordshire
    • 8.10c STE-B and STE-D: Steventon, documentary history of 67 and 71 The Causeway
    • 8.11 STO-F: Stoneleigh, Phoenix Cottage, 1 Birmingham Road, Warwickshire
    • 8.12 WOR-A: Water Orton, The Chestnuts, Church Lane, Warwickshire
• Appendices
  • 1. The application of scientific dating in the project (Nat Alcock, Cliff Litton, Dan Miles and Bob Laxtont)
  • 2. Location and dimension tables
• Notes
• Bibliography