Norman manor house info required

[olyreed]

I'm planning on modeling a manor house for my barons war project, not knowing much about the buildings at the time and relying on the internet and the good people on this forum for help and ideas😁.  I assume there would be a wall surrounding it with a gatehouse of some sort, would there be other buildings inside the grounds? A kitchen for example along with gardens

[Atheling]

Try Googling Boothby Pagnell Norman Manor House.

Here's on pic that poppe3d up immediately- built 1200 too boot.

[olyreed]

 Cheers Atheling. I will use that as a template. Just need to add walls and bits me thinks

[sukhe_bator]

Boothby Pagnell is pretty much the only freestanding manorial hall surviving of that period but the main hall of most castles and stone merchant's houses and hospitals e.g. in Canterbury followed a similar format. Stone houses often had a secure vaulted undercroft for storage. These structures followed the same architectural principles as timber halls. Imagine the length split into 4 sections. The entrance usually on one side at one end with a room for service (1/4), a main hall with raised platform at far end with fireplace either in the centre or a stone chimney behind the high table (1/2) with passageway to Lord's chambers behind (1/4) The centre of the building was full height with smoke escaping through the eaves or a smoke hood, and 2 levels at either end with small internal staircases. These dictated the window positions which were small arrowslits/loops at ground floor level for defence. With a lot of these earlier buildings an understanding of the function and the internal layout is diagnostic for the exterior look.

[sukhe_bator]

Many earlier structures had a hall on the first floor but transitioned into a full height structure in the 1200s. The Music House, Norwich is another example of a stone hall from the period. Kitchens were often separate buildings within a walled complex due to the risk of fire (like forges). Historians often look to how religious houses were laid out for cues to the operation of such complexes. I can thoroughly recommend Margaret Wood's The English Medieval House (1983) which contains a wealth of information and drawings/photos and architectural plans on all these issues...

[carlos marighela]

To save you some time:


https://www.thecollectionmuseum.com/assets/downloads/IS_arch_23_the_norman_manor_house_at_boothby_pagnell.pdf

[Atheling]

When I was in my early 20's I used to see a girl who lived in the Crook Hall in Durham. It has a Norman segment though it was 'spoiled' over the years but still had the upper bed chamber above the hall. Really interesting. Well, that section of the building

[carlos marighela]

I have a strange feeling that story ends in a Roger Whittaker tune.



 

[Atheling]

I have a strange feeling that story ends in a Roger Whittaker tune.



 

OMG!! I had hidden that horror to the back of my mind for years! 

[Maniac]

Typically the house would have had a wall or pallisade around the perimeter of an overall area that included some of the following out buildings:  stable, kitchen, blacksmith, chapel, dovecote, brewery, and the like.  It would have also had some sort of apple orchard or fruit trees, vegetable garden, a pond or two that were stocked with fish, and herb gardens.

This would have varied from place to place based on wealth and location.  See below.

[olyreed]

Thanks for all the replies, the image will come in useful, I will base it on that but a bit smaller

[painterman]

This maybe of interest as a basis:
https://www.petitepropertiesltd.com/1/48th-hobbler-s-loft-part-of-cobblestone-snicket.html

Simon

[Rick F]

Cheating a bit, but this could be the basis of a good model.
https://sarissa-precision.com/products/normanmanorhouse

[olyreed]

Starting to get ideas down on paper, i will use the Sarrisa precision manor house as a shell another building or 2 as well, vegetable plot and herb garden. The walls I was thinking of using MDF again as a base and cover in plasticard like the church I made. Just got to think of how to finish the tip of the walls

[Atheling]

This maybe of interest as a basis:
https://www.petitepropertiesltd.com/1/48th-hobbler-s-loft-part-of-cobblestone-snicket.html

Simon

Cheating a bit, but this could be the basis of a good model.
https://sarissa-precision.com/products/normanmanorhouse

Well, I've certainly made a note of these as with a degree of work (adding stone etc) they would be brilliant for my Hereford project, when resurrected!