Vernacular architecture can refer to any building designed without the aid of a professional architect, but in the context of this article, it refers to traditional styles built using local materials. One style distinctive to Wessex, but also found in the East Midlands and Cumbria, is the cob and thatch home, like the one in Hampshire illustrated above. Cob is unbaked clay covered with plaster. It is one of the oldest known building materials, dating back to 8000BC. The walls of Jericho are believed to have been built from cob, though perhaps that is not the best example to use!
Dartmoor, is one of only two places in England (Cumbria being the other) where traditional long houses can be found. These were once common among smallholders in the middle ages, with living space at one end of the building, and shelter for livestock in the other.
The Cotswold House is another distinctive style. Built from the local stone, with slate roofs, the walls are made of ashlar, stone blocks usually (though not always) laid in alternating horizontal and vertical layers. Some houses are built from irregularly shaped blocks, known as rubble masonry.
