still wanting not to go into this debate, I think Gabel brings out a good point. High end projects might require, and be able to afford, kiln dried wood.
In the old days in Continental Europe at least (can't speak for England, Ken may have to chime in on that) some timbers were allowed to season for a time. This was done either for high end jobs, or for a few vital timbers on other jobs where shrinkage might be catastrophic. The method of drying was not to use a kiln, but rather was to store hewn timbers in some out of the way location for several years. This would not stop checking, but it would keep the timbers from moving in situ.
It is also important to note 1 thing regarding green timbers.
In the old days, the trees were carefully picked and cut at the exact right moment if they were to be used without seasoning. In Germany this right time is between the middle of November and I think the New Moon around the end of January, first of February. Although it could be the full moon I am not quite sure. The reason for this being that during this time period the moisture content of the wood is at its lowest (the moon cycle affects when the sap comes back up into the tree)
