Hi TIMBEAL,
Being a natural born Scot (and emmigree to Canada) I suppose that I am at liberty to reveal a few home truths about the country of my birth and its people. I am not aware of any great traditional timber building tradition being present in Scotland. That is not to say that it does not exist - more that what does exist is hidden from view behind masonry walls unlike the south of England and the continent where everything is on show. There is rude jointed cruck buildings to be found in farm settlements but a considerable number of these were raised (burnt) during the Highland clearances (in favour of sheep) when the resident population was forced to consider opting to migrate to the new world. Scotland's oldest ally is France (not England) and therefore it is not surprising that English framing traditions tend to be absent in Scotland with French design influence being dominant in many of the more important early buildings. Ireland has a similar story to tell with many of its old buildings destroyed by Cromwell and their own desperate exodus experience due to the potato famine. These countries are both windy, wet and rocky so it is no surprise that since timber does not survive well in wet external situations that masonary construction should be favoured. I doubt that very much timber building tradition translated to the new world from Ireland or Scotland but equally since both of these proud celtic nations are intelligent and highly inventive they no doubt adapted quickly to the new set of circumstances that they found in the new world. Personally, having some experience of both sides of the big pond, I have seen little in America that reminds of home grown building practice but the story in Canada is different where French, Scots and Irish styles are evident in the many masonary buildings present in that country - especially in the east.
I think that it is important to draw from personal observation and experience as well as that information contained within the pages of books and articles. Not all authors are created equal. I shall leave you to ponder about "stamp collecting".
I was recently faced with the question - "If limited to a choice of 5 (timber framing) books what would they be" ?
Answer :
1 Discovering Timber-Framed buildings by Richard Harris.
This little book can easily be purchased by those persons operating on a tight budget and having sufferred (in the biblical sense) under his marking hand on my Masters Degree essays I can vouch that he knows his stuff and rarely will he be found to be wrong or defficient in his thought processes.
2 English Historic Carpentry by Cecil Hewett.
Cecil employed his artistic skills to good and great effect in combination with his analytical skills to produce this master work. Many are critical of Cecil, quick to point out his errors here and there but this must not be allowed to detract from the value of this corpus of knowledge.
3 The Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay (1625 - 1725) by Abbott Lowell Cummins.
This is a well researched, beautifully written and illustrated book that provides a snap shot in time that can be employed equally on both sides of the Atlantic since at that time we were the same nation.
4 Timber Frame Construction by Jack Sobon & Roger Schroeder.
Jack's knowledge, enthusiasm and understanding of his subject is hard to beat. His Garden Shed must be the most built timber frame structure in the world and it has now spawned many variants. I learned directly from Jack that sometimes it is important to see and interpret the detail in order to understand the bigger picture.
5 Building the Timber Frame House - the revival of a forgotten craft by Tedd Benson, James Gruber and Jamie Page.
This was the first timber framing book that I bought and it is notable for its inspiration and achievement in helping to set a whole industry in motion.
Regards
Ken Hume
