A Dendrochronological Study of the Monastic Buildings at Ely
Author(s): Alison Arnold, Robert Howard, R R Laxton, Cliff Litton, W G Simpson
Dendrochronological analysis was undertaken on buildings in the Priors Complex and Infirmary Complex of Ely Cathedral. In the Priors Complex dates obtained ranged from AD 1187, for the North Building of the West Range, to the first half of the seventeenth century for the Queen's Hall roof. In the Infirmary Complex the earliest roof was that of the Painted Chamber in Walsingham House, dated to AD 1328-39, and the latest that over the eastern half of Powcher's Hall, dated to the early seventeenth century. The South Building of the West Range (AD 1478) and the Canonry Hall roof (AD 1616/18) are both earlier than previously thought. The timber used comes from various different woodlands in the south/south-east of England. The exception is the timber-framed wing of Priory House, where sixteenth century timber is thought to have come from a more westerly English source. Imported boards were used in three buildings of the thirteenth and fourteenth/early fifteenth centuries, however, by the end of the fifteenth/early sixteenth century English boards were being used.
- Report Number:
- 74/2004
- Series:
- CfA Reports
- Pages:
- 234
- Keywords:
- Dendrochronology Standing Building
