Time Team: The 98 series
Programme 6: Aston Eyre, Shropshire

This week, Time Team's efforts are concentrated as much above the ground as beneath. They travel to Aston Eyre, Shropshire where a farmhouse converted from a medieval gatehouse is just the starting point for three days of hard work. Behind it is the derelict Old Hall that, in the 14th century, was the great hall of the lord of the manor, which now is – according to Tony – a 'whole complex of buildings, a jumble of remains that will provide a unique picture of medieval life'. Over the centuries, the hall has been greatly altered, but as the Time Team bring their expertise to bear on the standing buildings as well as excavating the foundations of long-gone structures and mapping out the surrounding area, the deserted manor comes to life. And from the written records of the period, we discover a poignant tale about the fate of the family who lived in the manor house at Aston Eyre.

above: Aston Eyre, now – and then?

Aston Eyre reconstruction RealVideo, 30K

This week's practical exercise sees Mick become a builder/decorator as he learns how to make lime mortar and shows us how the rough stone surfaces of medieval buildings were once hidden behind all-over coverings of render painted in delicate pastel tints!

At Aston Eyre, Mick and Tony donned fetching goggles and the latest in overall wear to tackle a messy medieval DIY job. What were they doing? Clue: A caustic wit will help with this.

Time Team had arranged for Mick to make and apply lime mortar – the medieval answer to pebble dash. First, pieces of limestone were placed on top of a wicker arch within a brick surround (the kiln), under which a fire was lit. As the wicker burned away, the limestone formed a self-supporting arch over the fire, which was covered with pieces of turf. The fire was stoked for 18 hours, to maintain a temperature above 900^oC (1652^oF).

After being heated for so long, the limestone turned into – and this is where the goggles and overalls came in – highly caustic 'quicklime', so called because of the violence of the chemical reaction when water is added to it. This was also the substance that, in the Middle Ages and after, was spread over corpses – particularly the bodies of those who had died of dread diseases such as leprosy and bubonic plague (ie the Black Death).

Just as a medieval mason would have done, Mick added gravel from a nearby stream to the quicklime, which coloured the resulting lime mortar a light pink. When it was applied between the stones of one of Aston Eyre's walls, it matched the medieval mortar almost exactly. Following this, the entire wall was covered with a thin render and then painted with a lime wash, so that the surface was flat and plain overall, quite unlike the rough surfaces we are used to seeing on medieval stone buildings.

Resources

Websites

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ORB
http://orb.rhodes.edu/
The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies, scholarly online journal.

Shropshire and the Domesday Book in 1086
http://www.infokey.com/Domesday/Shropshire.htm

The Old English Pages
http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/oe/old_english.html
An encyclopedic compendium of resources for the study of Old English and Anglo-Saxon England.

Books

The House Within: Interpreting medieval houses in Kent by P S Barnwell and A T Adams (HMSO, 1994) paperback £12.95
A copiously illustrated guide to the principal features of medieval houses. Based on Kentish material but excellent for anyone interested in this subject.

Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages by Christopher Dyer (Cambridge University Press, 1989) paperback £12.95
Domestic archaeological remains are used to illuminate the changing fortunes of different classes, from peasants to lords of the manor, c 1200-1520.

The English Medieval House by Margaret Wood (1965, Studio edition, 1996) hardback £9.99
A rather aged book, which nevertheless remains the definitive study of the English house from the Norman Conquest to 1540.

A Slice through Time by Mike Baillie (Routledge, 1995) paperback £25
In Shropshire, Time Team used dendrochronology – the science of dating wood by counting tree rings. This is the best book available on the subject, discussing the exciting potential, as well as the problems, of this comparatively new science.

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