Westminster Hall Hammer Beam Roof

Westminster hall s detail of hammer beam roof this is a close up of the hammer beam roof constructed by hugh herland in the late fourteenth century.

Westminster hall hammer beam roof.

Westminster hall served as the center of london s legal system hosting the courts of the king s bench common. The roof timbers were entirely made from oak which formed into thirteen 660 ton arches supporting the 176 ton lead roof. The magnificent hammer beam roof of westminster hall is the largest medieval timber roof in northern europe. 4 in and the opening between the ends of the hammer beams 7 77 metres 25 ft.

Measuring 20 7 by 73 2 metres 68 by 240 feet the roof was commissioned in 1393 by richard ii and is a masterpiece of design. It concludes that the hammer beam carpentry was crucial to the roof s structure and that herland intended the hall s great arched ribs primarily as ornamental components. The work was largely undertaken by the king s chief mason. The paper also places the westminster roof in the context of earlier hammer beam roofs particularly pilgrims hall winchester.

The earliest remaining hammer beam roof is in pilgrims hall part of the winchester cathedral complex while the largest hammer beam roof appears in westminster hall at the parliament complex in. Only equally massive buttresses could support the massive hammer beams and arches of westminster hall.