wattle-daub-msg - 11/8/14

Medieval Wattle and Daub construction.

NOTE: See also the files: bridges-msg, buildings-msg, castles-msg, cities-msg, thatch-roofs-msg, Castl-Capture-art, Chur-Bulgaria-art, peasants-msg.

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Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer)
Subject: Re: Waddle & daub query
Organization: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards CA
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 18:52:24 GMT

On Tue, 9 Jul 1996 08:05:56 GMT, carrie at ultranet.com (Labyrinth's End) said:

C> Houses ( farmer's, peasant and that type) were once made of waddle
C> and daub.  Waddle being woven basketstyle to form tha main wall
C> structures. 

Er, it's wattle, not waddle.  Wattle is poles interwoven with slender
branches, withes, or reeds.  It sticks in my mind that withes from
pollarded willows were the preferred material, but I can't easily say
where I picked this up.

C> Does anyone know what daub was composed of? It must
C> have been some kind of earthen matter that hardened to form a
C> covering for the waddle (think the origins of TUdor style) Any help
C> would be gretaly appreciated...

Daub is clay, usually obtained from rivers and streams.  Adobe, being
bricks of clay, is not named from a common root, despite the apparent
similarity.  Daub is from Middle English and adobe is from Arabic.

Since daub was easy softened by rain, the next step in the evolution
of construction was to cover the daub, while soft, with pebbles or
small rocks.  Whitewashing the daub was another technique, but it
couldn't just be picked up for free.  Stucco, being more permanent,
was a logical replacement of daub but it couldn't be obtained as
easily or as cheaply.  However, stucco studded with small rocks,
called "pebble and dash" is still used in the UK as a finish, so
people obviously liked the style.

I might mention also that my Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary
has an entry for "wattle", "daub", and "wattle and daub", defining the
last as "a framework of woven rods and twigs covered and plastered
with clay and used in building construction".  The date given for the
first written use of the term is 1808, while the date of "daub" is
14th century and of "wattle" is before the 12th century.

A desk dictionary can be a very useful tool for answering questions.
Using one might be a good first resort.
--
Mary Shafer               NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA
SR-71 Flying Qualities Lead Engineer     Of course I don't speak for NASA 
shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov                               DoD #362 KotFR   
URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html

From: zaphod at zoology.ubc.ca (Lance R. Bailey)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waddle & daub query
Date: 9 Jul 1996 21:36:27 GMT
Organization: The University of British Columbia

Mary Shafer (shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov) wrote:
> On Tue, 9 Jul 1996 08:05:56 GMT, carrie at ultranet.com (Labyrinth's End) said:

> C> Houses ( farmer's, peasant and that type) were once made of waddle
> C> and daub.  Waddle being woven basketstyle to form tha main wall
> C> structures. 

> Er, it's wattle, not waddle.  Wattle is poles interwoven with slender
> branches, withes, or reeds.  It sticks in my mind that withes from

I was just about to start on wattle walls for a kitchen area (lord
knows what for the roof) but was warned that the walls, when dry, will
be a horrible fire hazard. I was planning on using 1/2 - 3/4 inch
popular (the clinton war site is lousy with popular). I can't see that
as being more of a risk than say, a canvas tent.

> easily or as cheaply.  However, stucco studded with small rocks,
> called "pebble and dash" is still used in the UK as a finish, so
> people obviously liked the style.

My last house (century house in london ontario) was pebble and dash.
It's a nice finish.
--
devin o raudh
Barony of Lions Gate, An Tir

From: david.razler at postoffice.worldnet.att.net (David M. Razler)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waddle & daub query
Date: Tue, 09 Jul 1996 22:38:35 GMT

carrie at ultranet.com (Labyrinth's End) wrote:

>Here's a query for all you wise folk on the web...
>
>Houses ( farmer's, peasant and that type) were once made of  waddle and daub. 
>Waddle being woven basketstyle to form tha main wall structures. Does anyone 
>know what daub was composed of? It must have been some kind of earthen matter 
>that hardened to form  a covering for the waddle (think the origins of TUdor 
>style) Any help would be gretaly appreciated...
>
>Carrie
>carrie at ultranet.com

Anything you can "daub" on the wattle <watael, watul OE, origin obscure> to
keep out the cold or wet or heat. Clay, mud, whatever is available locally.
Maybe some dung, if you can afford to waste fertilizer/fuel for stickiness.
Maybe some lime if you live on top of it and it powders cheaply and you have a
basic understanding that it hardens well. We are talking subsistance level
construction, which, I am sure, evolved along the lines of "appropriate
technology" in this case, technology refined to use best whatever material one
could appropriate locally.

I would not be surprised if every neighborhood had its own traditional mixture
of the local clay, silt, sand. lime, whatever could be got for the cost of
labor.

                                A,T/dmr

David M. Razler
david.razler at worldnet.att.net

From: mfaul at netscape.com (Mike Faul)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Wattle & Daub (Was Re: Waddle & daub query)
Date: 9 Jul 1996 16:24:54 GMT
Organization: Netscape Communications Corp.

>Houses ( farmer's, peasant and that type) were once made of  waddle and daub. 
>Waddle being woven basketstyle to form tha main wall structures. Does anyone 
>know what daub was composed of? It must have been some kind of earthen matter 
>that hardened to form  a covering for the waddle (think the origins of Tudor 
>style) Any help would be gretaly appreciated...
>
>Carrie
>carrie at ultranet.com

Just to clarify, It's Wattle not Waddle. 

Daub is a particular type of clay found on the bottom of most rivers in 
Ireland anyway. The Daub I have used building forts as a child came from 
the Moy river in Co. Sligo, and was anything from red, gray/blue to 
brown in color. The same consistancy as potters clay.

Wattle the flexible twigs used to weave with are typically Saille rods 
(Willow) the same rods that are used to make creel or for thatching 
roofs. The Willow is only allowed to grow shoots which are then cut at 
the stump and grow long slender branches each year.

If you are ever in Ireland be sure to visit the Craganowen historical 
site near Limerick/Shannon. It has some very fine examples of ring fort, 
keep and lake forts. Wattle & daub construction, etc.

Fionn

From: Dunmail <D.J.Hodkinson at shef.ac.uk>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waddle & daub query
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 1996 12:24:37 +0100
Organization: Animal & Plant Science (bo), University of Sheffield , UK

David M. Razler wrote:
> Anything you can "daub" on the wattle <watael, watul OE, origin obscure> to
> keep out the cold or wet or heat. Clay, mud, whatever is available locally.
> Maybe some dung, if you can afford to waste fertilizer/fuel for stickiness.

Mud on its own will fall off very quickly - you need to put something in 
to bind it.  Old straw/horse manure do the job admirably.  As for the 
waste in using dung - you could always put the old daub on the fields 
when it fell off.

Dunmail

From: David Corliss <corlisd at aa.wl.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waddle & daub query
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 1996 10:02:57 -0400
Organization: Retro Team, Parke-Davis Ann Arbor

Alexander the Traveler / David M. Razler wrote: 
> Anything you can "daub" on the wattle <watael, watul OE, origin obscure> to
> keep out the cold or wet or heat. Clay, mud, whatever is available locally.
> Maybe some dung, if you can afford to waste fertilizer/fuel for stickiness.
> Maybe some lime if you live on top of it and it powders cheaply and you have a
> basic understanding that it hardens well. 

Lime is a processed material made from limestione: the stone is crushed and roasted to produce lime. Thus, it is not an obvious and cheap building material, even if you live on limestone or it's calcium carbonate relations chalk and gypsum.

Beorthwine

From: route66 at iserv.net (Gary J. Wolverton)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waddle & daub query
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 20:33:18 GMT
Organization: Iserv.net, Grand Rapids, MI, USA

        Well, in a couple of books in my library, mention is made to the
"Waddle & Daub" huts or structures. They pretty much describe "Daub"
as a mixture of mud, clay, cow or sheep (or the like) dung, and pretty
much anything else that starts out mucky and hardens when left in the
open air and sun. ;}~ If you're interested in the books, one is called
"Life in a Medieval Castle" and the other is " A World Lit Only By
Fire" in the latter book, only the first chapter is devoted to the
Dark Ages while the second and third chapters deal with Ren and
Magellan respectively.
Hope this helps.

From: ejpiii at delphi.com
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waddle & daub query
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 96 21:54:26 -0500

Labyrinth's End <carrie at ultranet.com> writes:
>Waddle being woven basketstyle to form tha main wall structures. Does anyone 
>know what daub was composed of? It must have been some kind of earthen matter 
 
Greetings from Eddward,
As others here have pointed out, it was pretty much whatever you could daub on.
In some of the examples I have seen in Europe (twas used widely elsewhere) I
thought it looked like cement, or concrete. Both of these materials were known
to the Romans (the Pantheon in Rome is concrete for instance), but the art of
making it faded in and out throughout the period. Another possibility is that
it also looked quite a bit like adobe, which is traditionally finished with
a lime mortar to stop water. One writer mentioned that lime was pretty hard to
make, but there are period references I have read that specifically mentioned
many limestone buildings being destroyed to make lime, so somebody must have
figured out the lime kiln early on.
I like industrial archaology, so if anyone can shed more light on this I for one
would be interested.
Eddward

From: coineaucgh at aol.com (Coineaucgh)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Waddle & daub query
Date: 12 Jul 1996 19:18:53 -0400

I do volunteer work at the Jamestown Settlement.  When we daub the houses
we use clay, straw and sand.  I have seen the attempts at other materials
and this works very well.  it is more durable than cement over wattle. 
The Museum of Frontier Culture in Staunton, VA uses the same mixture.  I
am sorry but I was not in on the research for the mixture so I cannot give
documentation.

coineaucgh

From: greeder at concentric.net
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: wattle and daub
Date: 18 Jul 1996 03:51:23 GMT

In <4s96a4$l4 at joni.loop.net>, gswitzer at loop.com writes:
>Wasn't there an issue of the Complete Anacronist series with instructions on 
>how to do your own wattle and daub construction?
>
>       Ishido Matsukage

CA #12 has a chapter entitled "Your own Cruck Beam Wattle
and Daub Thatched Hovel"

From: andrew norris <andrewnorris at hi.htnet.hr>
Date: April 10, 2006 3:46:20 AM CDT
To: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
Subject: Re: wattle and dawb mixture

Dear Stefan,
    I like the idea of writing an article of my experiences of trying to
create wattle and daub panels for our barn, which will eventually become a
painting/sculpture studio, however, this is a long term project and
probably won't start until next year as there are a few other priorities to
work on. Despite this I shall be making small trials and finding good
recipes in the meantime and will keep good notes for any future text.

    It is possible that there is a Shire publication on wattle and daub but I
did not come across it. However, the most relevant publication on the
subject was a pamphlet called, 'Panel infillings to timber framed buildings'
published by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. It is a
mere 12 pages but contains a wealth of info for repair methods, restoration
or reconstruction with a number annotated drawings, recipes for lime
plasters as well as daub. It is a great publication from which to begin an
investigation into this type of construction. Copies are available from The
SPAB, 37 Spital Square, London, E1 6DY,  phone 0207 377 1644. I think it
cost me about 3 pounds.

    The other two books, The Natural Plaster Book (New Society Publishers)
and Building with cob (Green books) , I have just read the first few
chapters of each but they are both nicely written, especially the second,
and they give one a great feeling of empowerment and inspiration. I am
already thinking of a small cob shelter at the end of the garden, near the
future vegetable plot....but that really is for a few years hence.

Kind regards
Andrew

To: Authentic_SCA at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Fw: Wattle Fences
Posted by: "Jack Graham" friarjak at yahoo.com   friarjak
Date: Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:54 pm (PDT)

<<< Does anyone know what they make these dang things out of for the 
reconstructed sites and such? >>>

It is my impression that withies were grown in a coppice where the stumps were regularly trimmed so they would sucker and grow more withies for cooping, wattling, and the like.See http://www.coppice.org.uk/background.htm for details or the following for generality:

with·y (w, wth)
adj.
1. Made of or as flexible as withes; tough.
2. Wiry and agile.
n. pl. with·ies 
1. A rope or band made of withes.
2. 
a. A long flexible twig, as that of an osier.
b. A tree or shrub having such twigs.
________________________________

[withe + -y. N., from Middle English withye, willow branch, from Old English wthig, willow; see wei- in Indo-European roots.]
The
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published
by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Yours Faithfully,
Friar Jak

<the end>