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Nexus resource
Medieval towns
Medieval houses
Subject:
Age groups:
Topic:
History
8 – 11, 12 - 14
Middle ages
Licence information | This resource is free to use for educational purposes. ©British Council 2014
Source | This resource was originally developed by Samira Moradi and has been adapted by EAL
Nexus.
Houses in the Medieval Period
At the start of the Medieval
Period peasants lived in
houses made of sticks and
straw. These houses had
one room and the family shared the house with their animals.
Rich people, like the Lord of the Manor,
lived in houses made of stone. These
houses had two rooms. The main living
room had a fire. The other room had an
oven for cooking. There was no chimney so
the house was very smoky. There was only
one small window so the house was dark.
Later in the Medieval Period
peasants lived in houses made
from wattle and daub. Wattle
means twigs woven together.
Daub means mud. People used to
spread the mud over the woven twigs and when it dried it became
hard.
Later in the Medieval Period, in Tudor times, rich people lived in
houses made of wood and brick. These
were called ‘half-timbered’ houses.
They were much stronger and some of
them still exist. These houses were
larger and some had two floors. They
had windows, slates on the roof and
chimneys to let the smoke out.
2
Houses in the medieval period
Key words or phrases with pictures
animals
mud
oven
stone
brick
roof
straw
window
chimneys
slates
twigs
wood / timber
half-timbered house
smoke
sticks
wattle and daub
woven
Key words to translate
Word or phrase
dark and smoky
Lord of the Manor
to share
still exists
to spread
3
Write a translation of this word or phrase
Smaller or larger?
Look



at the circles.
Which one represents timber?
Which one represents twigs?
Which one represents sticks?
a
b
c
Larger or smaller? Choose the correct word to complete the
sentences:
 Twigs are ____________ than timber.
 Sticks are ______________ than twigs.
 Timber is _______________ than twigs.
Make sentences comparing houses using the table:
sticks and
straw
Houses made of
stone
wattle and
daub
brick and
timber
4
sticks
and
straw
stronger
were
cheaper
lighter
smokier
than
houses made of
stone
wattle
and daub
brick and
timber