- Chapter Eleven -
Figure 11.6 The Pimperne Down round-house. Over 13 m in diameter. More than 200 trees
were required for its construction. The roof weighs over 25 tonnes with a free span of over
10 m. (Copyright: Peter Reynolds.)
converted to vertical thrust and sustained primarily by the inner ring of timbers. At
this stage and subsequently it is possible to remove and replace the outer wall.
Similarly, the principal rafters no longer depend upon having the butts on the ground
and can be sawn off at the eave level along with the other rafters.
The porch is in essence a straightforward rectangular building with a pitched roof
attached to the round-house. The primary observation is that the pitch of the porch
roof is dictated by the joint between it and the main house roof having to subtend
an angle of 45°. This inevitably leads to a steeper pitch for the porch of some 55°.
Details of doors are virtually non-existent but there is little doubt but that such a
structure would have had a fine pair of doors to complete it.
The reason for dwelling upon the detail of such a conjectured building lies in its
forbidding complexity. The materials alone would have comprised over 200 trees,
nearly one hectare of coppiced hazel, over 10 tonnes of clay and twice that of
soil, 15 to 20 tonnes of thatching straw, a kilometre or so of binding and lashing
material. Such houses are not round huts lived in by rude natives struggling to
survive until history catches up with them. In architectural engineering concept they
are more complex than the average Greek or Roman temple, which only comprises
stone blocks laid upon one another. Furthermore, to have such a house built,
since surely such complexity argues for service industries of builders, joiners and
thatchers, implies great wealth and status. How such houses were fitted out we have
little or no real idea other than those glimpses afforded by the Celtic legends. If these