While our Saxon longhouse is developing steadily every day, our reconstructors need to think about materials.A number of trees have been carefully felled and hand-hewn with an axe, before being shaped into beams to use in our latest exciting Saxon experiment. The woodland in which the trees were felled is known as the ‘Richard de Bere Copse’ near Droxford, and contains a range of ancient oak trees. Restoration coppicing is essential for woodland management, and thinning of the oak overstory allows light to reach through and benefit flowers and hazel thickets.Oak is the type of wood that would have been used over 1,000 years ago, and the information gathered during the process will be of great historical importance and fantastic for educational purposes. The longhouse is coming along nicely and our treewrights are hard at work – be sure to come and see how we’re doing!
