Bibliography - Dr. Jayne Claudia Kirk Ph.D.
Bibliography Home

The supply and utilisation of vernacular building timber in the rural Sussex Weald 1500-1800. , by Jayne Claudia Kirk, 2001 at Sussex University (Ph.D. thesis)

Butts Cottage, Kirdford: The Conversion of Trees to Timber in The Rural Sussex Weald, by J. C. Kirk, published 2004 in Vernacular Architecture (vol. 35, article, pp.12-20) accessible at: British Library   View Online

In 1972, VA published an account of Oliver Rackham's survey of a late medieval timber-framed house at Stanton, West Suffolk, in which he deduced from the surviving structure the amount of timber the original had required, its cost, and how many trees of varying ages and sizes had been used to build it. Following the example of Rackham's work, a similar survey of a typical sixteenth-century timber-framed house in the Sussex Weald was carried out, which has not only revealed striking differences between the two regions in the type of trees used and the way in which they were worked, but also valuable information about the early-modern Wealden landscape and contemporary utilisation of its resources.

The early-modern carpenter and timber-framing in the rural Sussex Weald, by J. C. Kirk, published 2004 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 142, article, pp.93-105) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15489] & The Keep [LIB/500360] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The 16th and 17th centuries witnessed the peak of post-medieval iron and glass production in the Sussex Weald together with an upsurge in the building and re-modelling of local houses on such a scale that it has been called by some historians 'The Great Rebuilding'. The link between iron, glass, and construction was the wood and timber industry, which utilized an ancient form of woodland management to provide charcoal for the furnaces and oak for the timber-framed buildings characteristic of the region. There is evidence to suggest, however, that timber from woodland sources was not as freely available as might be thought, and that the use of hedgerow trees, especially for the smaller vernacular house, was a viable alternative. It is possible to tell from tool marks on timbers in a surviving building not only what type of tree was used and how it was worked, but also how many were needed to complete the frame. These facts reflect on the local availability of building timber and thus the contemporary management of timber supplies. The life and work of the carpenter, the figure at the centre of the wood, timber, and construction industries at this time, are not so easily understood. In the absence of written accounts probate inventories have been taken as the most revealing source of information on standards of living and work practices and in the process have added considerably to what is already known of the rural Wealden artisan in early-modern Sussex.

Parham: An Elizabethan house and its restoration, by Jayne Kirk, published 1 March 2009 (208 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 1860774857 & ISBN-13: 9781860774850) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Parham House lies tranquilly at the foot of the South Downs, an Elizabethan house with weathered stone walls, glittering leaded windows and a gabled silhouette. In its ancient park, deer roam beneath spreading oaks and 18th-century lawns spread out towards the church, all that remains of Parham village. Rescued from decay and lovingly restored by Clive and Alicia Pearson and their architect Victor Heal, the house was opened to the public in 1948. This book tells the story of the house, and of the three families - the Palmers, the Bisshopps and the Pearsons - who owned it for more than 400 years. Parham: A Sussex House and its restoration, brings to life the way its restorers dealt with the practical and aesthetic problems they encountered. A precious archive of drawings, letters and other papers has revealed much new evidence about changes to the fabric. Professional and volunteer archaeologists have searched the park for traces of the monastic grange and village that once stood somewhere within it, while personal recollections have added yet another perspective. All the findings have been masterfully pieced together by Jayne Kirk, who has thrown a brilliant light onto the hidden history of this intriguing country house.