*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 29, 2024, 07:06:23 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 1686614
  • Total Topics: 118113
  • Online Today: 777
  • Online Ever: 2235
  • (October 29, 2023, 12:32:45 AM)
Users Online

Recent

Author Topic: Colour of medieval houses  (Read 1717 times)

Online olyreed

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1321
Colour of medieval houses
« on: October 17, 2020, 02:43:58 PM »
I have started on my first village house for my Barons war project. I have seen on other threads a few houses are painted a pinkish colour and was wondering if this is the way to go. The first one I have done I painted Vallejo brown rose but wondered if this colour is wrong and should go for a sandy or white colour.

Offline Citizen Sade

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Mad Scientist
  • *
  • Posts: 766
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #1 on: October 17, 2020, 03:43:53 PM »
Pink houses are fairly common in Suffolk, at least. Traditionally, I understand that it was done by adding elderberry or sloe juice to limewash. It dates from the 14th century and I imagine that standard limewash was far more common.

Offline bluewillow

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2280
  • Bluewillow- Matthew Williamson
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #2 on: October 17, 2020, 04:27:19 PM »
Limewash I suggest for the 12th century for houses, it depends upon the area and the soil, Suffolk plaster is quite red as are the downs, here locally in France in Pays de Loire a wide range of colours exist but predominantly the same colour as the soil, grey beige through to creamy white through to a golden yellow is common in lower Normandy.

 In Vitré a 14th century city that has a provision order on it, there are greens, reds, pinks and yellows, although much later. The merchants houses and guild houses are mentioned as being very coloured during the cloth making boom in the 13th century.

Cheers
Matt
« Last Edit: October 19, 2020, 04:25:13 AM by bluewillow »

Offline Codsticker

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • *
  • Posts: 3276
    • Kodsticklerburg: A Mordheim project
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2020, 02:21:58 AM »
I painted some of mine off-white, some beige and some pink-ish. I read somewhere (I can't recall where) that ox blood was occasionally used to add colour.

Offline Etranger

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 917
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2020, 07:45:32 AM »
The black timbered, starkly white half timbered house was largely a Victorian invention. Before that a range of colours could be seen for lime wash and timber often left unpainted.
"It's only a flesh wound...."

Online olyreed

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1321
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2020, 06:15:51 PM »
Finally settled on a colour. The thatch roof is a little rough but should look fine on the table

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 11905
    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2020, 06:39:37 PM »
I'm with Matt. Just based account the idea that a person might go to another village, not too far away and not completely understand the dialect, I think there would be regional variation. So, semi-localised cultural/aesthetic variation too.

Offline PhilB

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 431
    • A Dragontooth Grognard
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #7 on: October 21, 2020, 06:40:37 PM »
The thatched roof looks great, but that pink... just doesn't feel right.

My half-timbered houses mostly use shades of yellow ochre:



More pics in this thread: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=125356.0

Offline carlos marighela

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 10762
  • Flamenguista até morrer.
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #8 on: October 21, 2020, 09:54:01 PM »
Ox blood was sometimes added to lime wash in Italy, from late Roman times through to this century and probably before. Its use elsewhere in Europe and indeed Asia is well documented and said to help waterproof the plaster as well as acting as a setting agent, making the plaster dry quicker. It gives a reddish to dusty pink tone to plaster.
Em dezembro de '81
Botou os ingleses na roda
3 a 0 no Liverpool
Ficou marcado na história
E no Rio não tem outro igual
Só o Flamengo é campeão mundial
E agora seu povo
Pede o mundo de novo

Offline Codsticker

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • *
  • Posts: 3276
    • Kodsticklerburg: A Mordheim project
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2020, 04:56:57 AM »
Finally settled on a colour. The thatch roof is a little rough but should look fine on the table
Your are right; the thatch will look fine on the table and the colour of the daub looks perfect to me.

Offline commissarmoody

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8669
    • Moodys Adventures
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2020, 06:11:44 AM »
That's a nice looking home to me.  :D
"Peace" is that brief, glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading.

- Anonymous

Online olyreed

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1321
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2020, 02:09:28 PM »
Thank you for the kind comments, much appreciated

Offline Little Odo

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1810
    • Little Odo's Grand Days Out
Re: Colour of medieval houses
« Reply #12 on: October 26, 2020, 02:52:49 PM »
I visited Mountfitchet Castle in Essex, England over the weekend. I wrote a very brief blog post on it...

https://littleodo.blogspot.com/2020/10/mountfitchet-castle.html

The buildings here all seemed to be either white-washed or left to the elements as plain wood. I am not sure if this helps in your hunt for building colours, but I am sure a bit of Google-fu can take things a little further for you?
Little Odo's Grand Days Out
http://littleodo.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
11 Replies
8242 Views
Last post October 28, 2009, 01:23:51 PM
by stuzzar
1 Replies
1242 Views
Last post May 05, 2014, 12:15:13 PM
by Mason
2 Replies
978 Views
Last post October 23, 2014, 01:40:43 PM
by LotB
5 Replies
1922 Views
Last post October 29, 2015, 03:35:44 AM
by grant
61 Replies
7472 Views
Last post October 05, 2020, 06:34:27 PM
by PhilB