From the late thirteenth century, if not before, individual houses of the wealthier sort were linked and reorganized as farmsteads. .
The Goltho's house in Lincolnshire, rebuilt in the late thirteenth century and abandoned about a century later, compared with earlier houses on the same village site, all of much flimsier construction, was built to last. It was 30 by 14 feet, its to rooms one of which was heated by a hooded corner hearth- were divided by a central cross passage. The timber houses in a stone less region, rested on life prolonging pad stone. The substantial timber frames-two and sometimes three bays in length-were each of these villages the associated finds suggest life-styles of comfort and modest affluence. .
Most people lived in log or stone houses roofed with thatch. In the houses of the common people, the stonewalls were often bare or covered with rough plaster. After 1400, tapestries were used in the castles of both France and England to cover walls, to hang over windows and doors, and to enclose beds, or as partitions to subdivide large rooms for greater privacy. When actual tapestries were not available, the interior walls of the castles were sometimes painted in imitation of hung textiles or with mural decorations of historical and religious scenes or legends of chivalry. The paintings were treated in a flat manner, with few gradations of coloring and no perspective in drawing.
The ceiling of the rooms usually showed the exposed beams or trusses of the roof construction, frequently enriched with colorful painted ornament. On plaster ceiling gold star patterns on a blue or green ground were often painted. When flat-beamed ceilings were used, the ends of the beams were supported by projecting ornamental brackets, variously shaped or carved into figures.
Floors were in stone, brick, or tile, and generally covered with straw or leaves. Among these were sweet scented shrubs and herbs, chosen for their aroma or for their ability to disguise other aromas.
