A few weeks ago – Diane Wyles sponsored a five-day visit to the Duddington area so that we could complete the genealogical field research we were carrying-out during the Summer. Initially, we stayed in Easton-on-the-Hill – which was literally a few minutes from Duddington. This time, Market Overton was at least 16-miles away from Duddington – but the change of scenery did us very good as there was much more old English history to experience. We stayed in a 17th century house (that is – a house built during the 1600s) – which was really a small cottage of two-rooms up and two-rooms down – plus a garden. In its day in the 1600s – this was considered a reasonably affluent place of abode – but by the 1800s, I would describe this as a “Workers’ Cottage”. This is because the wealthy people, in the intervening two-hundred years (due to the exploitation of the working-class during the Industrial Revolution), had becomes so much more affluent, that their superior housing had becoming greatly enlarged (often ridiculously so)!
I think the structure featured in this post might have been a window that was once exterior – with an interior space added sometime after the 1600s. What is now the dining area – where I set-up my study space – was probably once part of the garden. Therefore, the window itself was once considered the height of building technology. In those days, draughts from blowing winds were a major issue. The frame of this window is firmly embedded in the wall-structure so that no wind can penetrate. The cement and plaster hold it robustly in place – whilst its relatively small surface area allows for strength and stability. As glass was not as strong then as it is now – the panes of glass used were far-smaller – with each held in-place by its own frame. Furthermore, and a feature I like, is the central pane that possesses a stout hinging and opening and shutting mechanism. Even today – this design still retains much of its original strength – whilst being now inside the house means it is now better preserved.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 