Hi Don,
Re Jetty dimensions:- One could hazard a guess that these might usually be in the region of 18 - 24 inches wide but where jetties were employed in a town and a new building was being inserted between two existing buildings then the width of the jetty might well vary along the length of the new building to ensure a match. Town buildings do not necessarily have right angled corners. Some buildings feature jetties on sucessive floors such that the overall building overhang increases with height as does the building lean as the cummulative effects of timber shrinkage across the grain and cantilevering result in a pronounced deformation. This can be quite unsettling.
I am not familiar with the Garrison or Foyer style of house that you describe but I think on balance probably not since the key features of a Wealden is that it has an open hall with a fire burning on the floor in the hall and so this is very much a contrived design to suit circumstances that existed before the widespread construction of chimneys and the fitting of glass into windows. The recessed front in a Wealden was most likely an attempt at improving weather protection of the hall windows from falling rain. The recess on a Wealden is found on the long (eaves) wall.
The sun in England is never really that strong but yes a degree of shading would be provided.
When jetties become wide overhangs with intermittant post supports for bressumers then the opportunity does exist to connect same together and form canopied walkways. The most striking examples of this type of feature can be seen in the city of Chester, Cheshire where this was developed almost into an artform. Winchester also has a number of very early buildings connected in this fashion.
Your comments about defence are probably worthy of consideration and certainly we must consider security. I have oft wondered why internal jetties were built so low such that it might not even be possible for a normal person to stand up straight and this might well be to do with security e.g. to prevent the effective swinging of weapons say in a rent collection bailiff's or reeve's office (hall) - I wonder if they had the equivalent of bank raids in medieval times ?
I will try and dig out some photos and post same to help illlustrate some of these points and also just for your enjoyment.
Final thought :- clearly very little work has been undertaken here to research and catagorise all the different types of jettied, overhung and projecting building types that exist here and this could form rather a nice topic for a Masters dissertation.
Regards
Ken Hume
