hammerbeam roof
The hammerbeam roof, invented in England in the late fourteenth century, made it possible to span wide spaces without rows of columns or stone vaulting. The trick was to make use of a series of short horizontal and vertical oak beams, rising in steps from the tops of the walls to the centre of the roof space. These distributed the weight of the roof to the sides. Not only serving a structural purpose, hammerbeam roofs are also very beautiful. The beam ends are often decorated with brightly painted carvings of angels holding shields, figures which seem to be supporting the roof above.
The most famous example was designed in the 1390s by the master carpenter, Hugh Herland, for Westminster Hall. Not only the largest hammerbeam roof in England, this may well be the very first to have been built. Others can be seen in the halls of Hampton Court and Eltham Palace, and in many churches, particularly in eastern England.
Photo: George Lewin
NOMINATION 843 OF 1160
1) The hammer-beam roof is the “King” of open timber roofs and is a symbol of England.
2) The hammer-beam roof rose to East Anglia’s glory in the 15th century. More than 90% of all medieval hammer-beam roofs were built in England.
3) The most magnificent examples of the hammer-beam roof have been built by England’s Kings.
4) Westminster Hall has a hammer-beam roof.
5) The hammer-beam roof is the most dominant open timber roof at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
6) 50% of all hammer-beam roofs in North America were raised over churches of the Anglican Communion. 60% in Australia.
7) More than half of all hammer-beam roofs ever constructed were built in England.
The hammer-beam roof is by all accounts an icon of England.
Eric Neuman
Gives large interiors a sense of airy space. The hammerbeam roof is so typical of the creativeness of the English. It's so good to have an architectural feature that is uniquely English.
Rev Michael Monkman
