Article
Timber-framed Town Houses in the Northern Netherlands Before 1600
Construction and Geographical Distribution
Timber-framed buildings can be found in large parts of Western Europe. The Glossary of Prehistoric and Historic Timber Buildings refers to the broad similarities between Dutch timber framing and that of neighbouring countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany, but describes the lack of many special wall framing features, particularly bracings and jetties. The timber frame distribution map of Europe leaves out parts of the Netherlands (Figure 1) (Volmer and Zimmermann, Glossary, 23–24.). Although some critical remarks can be made about statements made in the Glossary, it is true that timber-framed town houses, as they are found in the Northern Netherlands, rarely fit the wider traditional picture of timber building. This contribution will investigate the construction of town house walls until around 1600 to gain improved understanding of the vernacular landscape in the Netherlands. After a brief historiography, the main principles of timber frame building and their regional distribution across the Netherlands will be elucidated. The conclusion will examine the motives behind the relatively divergent building solutions and their distribution.
Dutch house research has been dominated by a typo- logical and material-constructional approach since the 1960s. Methodologically, this research is closely related to the German tradition, which evolved from an anthro- pological, folkloristic point of view to a more building archaeological approach. Until the end of the 1970s, Kulturraumforschung examined regional differences in house appearance and construction, after which the main focus shifted to a more detailed survey of individual con- struction methods. Dendrochronological dating has led to a new and better understanding of historical houses, but the interaction between construction and building mate- rial utilisation on the one hand and the various houses as a means for understanding regional differences and spe- cific solutions on the other, was neglected. Comparing regional differences was considered obsolete even though new, comprehensive questions remained unasked.
Source: van Tussenbroek, G. 2017. Timber-framed Town Houses in the Northern Netherlands Before 1600. Construction and Geographical Distribution. Vernacular Architecture, 48 (1), p. 44-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055477.2017.1375843
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Icon image: Pxfuel - timber houses
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