Unearthing the legacy of ships timbers?

Let's dive into the world of ships timbers, understanding their journey from the sea to historic buildings. Understanding their distinct characteristics, can quickly seperate some of the yays from the nays.

Ships timbers: a unique heritage material, really?

Maybe a lot of old wives liked to tell a lot of tales? Carl Jung wasnt around in time to stop old wives who love a bit of gossip; around 100 years ago, Carl Jung stated: "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgement"

So what's changed 🤔

Well their is certainly a vast amount of tale/telling that we show on other pages surrounding traditional builds, and there is also the undeniable fact that many of today's wives love a bit of "wishful thinking", whilst wearing their rose coloured glasses.

Firstly, ships timbers, particularly those salvaged and alledgedly repurposed in buildings, possess shapes and characteristics unlike any other wood. Their saturation by exposure to saltwater, marine organisms, aded to the varied, much different stresses encountered during their maritime life creates timbers with a unique composition and structural integrity, and of course the other glaringly obvious: for what comes out, someting else must fill the gaps left. (Watch the vid)

Understanding these properties is paramount. We aim to reach all those interested in this fascinating aspect of building history, from seasoned professionals to curious enthusiasts. Don't be an Armchair Expert!

Get the poporn out, and realise we don't reinvent wheels

A famous, and memorable case for a lot of us, is the raising of the Mary Rose, been there, seen that, and in my opinion, no matter how much "gushing presentations" may make it appear to be 'a  wonder to behold', I never saw that, instead I saw a pile of bonfire wood in front of me TBH, so please watch and listen instead (far cheaper):

Sometimes, only sometimes, heavily edited TV programmes can be of use, but please do take note:  "sometimes", we're clearly still in the learning and trialling stages nowadays related to old ships timbers, and even so, they are still projected to degrade!

So did old wives really have all this knowledge and the necessary facilities back when your house was first designed, and then built?, but are we venturing into areas of history that we're not going into, other than to say that "Tartare" sauce (wherever that originated) can be a very complimentary sauce added to sea fish 👍

Or mate the closest trees were a bit easier to chop down, season, transport, and cut & peg joints into?

Many myths and common misconceptions

Many "old wives' tales" missed something rather important:

There is a common assumption that the re-use of ‘old ships timbers’ in buildings was a common occurrence in medieval England. However, no well-substantiated archaeological example of such a practice in a standing medieval structure is known.’ (Goodburn 2000, 2, 89).

 

Another good reason to never assume, and instead accept that rose tinted glasses really are nothing more than a "fashion accessory", and can easily be removed, if wanted.

 

Sorry about that.

 

Think 🤔