The magnificent hammer beam roof of westminster hall is the largest medieval timber roof in northern europe.
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 span of westminster hall is 20 8 metres 68 ft.
The paper also places the westminster roof in the context of earlier hammer beam roofs particularly pilgrims hall winchester.
The beams and the roof itself weigh a collective 836 tons with the timbers of the beams weighing 660 tons.
The roof timbers were entirely made from oak which formed into thirteen 660 ton arches supporting the 176 ton lead roof.
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.
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.
4 in and the opening between the ends of the hammer beams 7 77 metres 25 ft.
Only equally massive buttresses could support the massive hammer beams and arches of westminster hall.