The Monday Photo

For me, growing up through the 60s in North Bucks this was a common sight; an ancient half timbered house or cottage with a corrugated iron roof.

Under the iron roof would be a thatched roof in poor condition; using corrugated iron sheeting was a cheaper way than rethatching to make a roof weatherproof again.

Of  course, most of these homes have since been rethatched, some more than once.

This house on the High Street in North Marston still has thatch under the sheeting, and it’s an unusual survivor of a different time. I’m quite pleased it’s like this.

Corrugated iron sheets were invented in 1829, then made of wrought iron. Later they were made of mild steel, once the Bessemer Process brought a cheap way to make steel in the mid 19th Century.

This timber framed house is late 16th or 17th Century and is ‘L’ shaped. You can just see the rear wing through the gap, and that it isn’t quite square on to the front part of the house. The first floor is leaning out a bit, too.

The rear wing’s roof is also covered in corrugated iron, as is what seems to be a single story outbuilding at the back. You can see both of these roofs if you walk a bit further along the High Street.

If you look very closely at the cottage on the right, you might be able to see that it’s also built with a timber frame. It has been refronted in brick to make it look more up to date. Though it’s not very obvious in this photo, the roof has a much gentler slope than the house next door, so it is likely to have always been slate.

I had intended to just take a shot of the whole of the house with its green “tin” roof, but I found this gap between it and next door more telling. There are details everywhere; all you have to do is look out for them.

I used a Sony A6000 and zoom lens just like this one for the photo in this post.

I make a small percentage from sales through Amazon links, no matter what you buy while you visit their site from here. This helps me but costs you nothing, so if you make a purchase via the NBW, thank you.