The cheapest components on the building, protecting the most expensive ones. Here are eleven.
1. They Stop the Roof Edge Being Fed Into the Wall
A roof with no gutter…
Somebody laid it, and then everybody dug it up. Here are ten.
1. Large Rectangular Slabs Mean Somebody Was Spending
Big sawn stone flags were expensive and were laid where…
One fire, one anvil, and everything metal for a mile. Here are twelve.
1. The Fire Was Not Hot Because It Was Big
A forge fire is small and concentrated,…
Nobody numbered a house until somebody official wanted something. Here are eleven.
1. Numbering Was Imposed, Not Adopted
Systematic house numbering spread through Europe in the eighteenth century, introduced by…
Usually the oldest ground in the village, and it keeps records. Here are seventeen.
1. The Ground Is Higher Than the Street
Centuries of burial add material rather than remove…
Mostly about air, not water. Here are fifteen.
1. The Bend Is Holding Water on Purpose
Every fixture has a trap, a dip in the pipe that retains water after…