Carpenters played a crucial role in the economy and daily life of medieval England. In a new article, Christopher Dyer brings together documentary and architectural evidence to reveal what we can now say about the craft and the people who practised it during the later Middle Ages.
How Many Carpenters Lived in Medieval England?
One of the strongest insights from Dyer’s article is the sheer ubiquity of carpenters in medieval England. They appear in villages, small market towns, major urban centres, and forested regions where timber was abundant. Using evidence from the 1379–1381 poll taxes, Dyer estimates more than 10,000 carpenters were active around 1380 — or about one in every 270 people was employed in the craft. Their presence spans every kind of medieval settlement, demonstrating that carpentry was a cornerstone trade, not a marginal or urban-only occupation.
How Far Carpenters Travelled for Work
Bodleian Library MS. Barlow 53 (R)
Mobility was a key feature of the carpentry trade in medieval England. Using 158 cases where both a carpenter’s home and place of work can be identified, Dyer shows that carpenters travelled widely depending on the scale and prestige of the project. About a third stayed within their own town or village, especially in larger centres such as London or Oxford where work was plentiful. Another third travelled modest distances—up to 12 miles—for routine building tasks, moving between neighbouring communities for house repairs, timber framing, and small construction jobs. This mobility created a wide regional labour market in which both rural and urban carpenters crossed boundaries when opportunities arose.
The remaining third travelled far greater distances, sometimes more than 50 miles, and these long journeys correlate strongly with major building campaigns. As Dyer explains, “The scale of the work varied from mending a door or replacing decayed timber at a cost of a few shillings, to building a small house or a parish church roof for £5 or £10, and at the top of the hierarchy were the large-scale and costly construction projects on castles and major churches.” This pattern demonstrates how the most ambitious projects drew carpenters across counties, creating a network of skilled workers who operated well beyond local boundaries.
“Celebrity” Carpenters
At the highest level of the profession were carpenters whom Dyer describes as “celebrities”—craftsmen sought out by prominent and wealthy patrons for major architectural commissions. These elite carpenters moved between castles, colleges, and cathedrals, often travelling long distances because their expertise was in high demand. Richard Felsted of London, for example, was hired in 1342 to install new roofs at Kenilworth Castle for a substantial fee of 250 marks. Even more renowned was Hugh Herland, whose late fourteenth-century career included work at Carisbrooke Castle, Porchester Castle, New College, Winchester College, Winchester Castle, and Westminster Hall. Dyer notes, “Such a leading carpenter did not wield an axe, but advised on designs and supervised others, resembling a modern consultant.”
How Carpenters Learned Their Trade
Dyer explains that “the foolish carpenter’s lack of faith has led him to build a house on sand, to make errors in the timber framing, and to put the door in the wrong place. The metaphor is based on the Bible. The tools shown are an axe, adze and auger, with a mallet with a broken handle. The depiction of a cruck forms an elaborate A, the first letter of Arena (sand).” British Library MS Royal 6. E V1, fol. 148v
Training for carpenters in the Later Middle Ages followed two parallel paths: formal apprenticeship and informal, hands-on learning. Only a small number of formal indentures survive before the sixteenth century—Dyer notes that in the 1530s, just one carpenter and one “ship carpenter” appear among Bristol’s recorded apprentices. Some towns issued regulations requiring carpenters to serve apprenticeships, but the rules were not always followed. London shows a clearer pattern: between 1477 and 1551, 435 apprenticeships were recorded, though many did not complete their terms, and even those who did often failed to advance to the level of master craftsman.
Alongside these formal systems ran a broad, flexible world of informal learning, where carpenters trained boys or servants directly on the job. Sons often learned by assisting their fathers, creating small family clusters within rural villages. Yet hereditary succession remained rare: only 26% of carpenters in York gained the freedom of the city through patrimony, compared with 65% of butchers. This suggests that carpentry was an open, accessible craft, drawing newcomers with little family connection to the trade.
How Wealthy Were Carpenters?
The wealth of medieval carpenters varied widely depending on where they lived and the scale of the work they performed. Many carpenters appear in records as householders and modest landowners, suggesting a stable but not affluent standard of living. In towns, where demand for building was constant, some managed to acquire property. Dyer notes that in Coventry several carpenters held not only their own homes but additional cottages for subletting, and in Winchester they owned more property than masons or smiths. These cases indicate that urban carpenters could sometimes accumulate assets—usually when they occupied stable positions within busy local markets.
However, these property-owning craftsmen were the minority. Most carpenters were not particularly wealthy, and many combined carpentry with agricultural labour or other side tasks to make ends meet. Overall, carpenter wealth ranged from comfortable but limited prosperity in towns to far more modest circumstances in rural settings—reflecting the wide spectrum of economic roles within the craft.
Their Reputation
Carpenters at work in this 15th-century manuscript – British Library MS Add. 18850, fol.15v
Carpenters held an essential but often undervalued place in medieval society. Their skills were widely relied upon—they advised town officials, assessed building works, and were even praised in poetry for their craftsmanship. However, as Dyer notes, “Contemporaries sought their services, but do not seem to have held them in high regard. They were perhaps taken for granted, and caused disappointment when they did not always live up to expectations.”
Carpenters, Innovation, and Medieval Building Styles
Dyer places carpenters at the centre of the twelfth- and thirteenth-century “building revolution,” when innovations such as squared timbers, widespread mortice-and-tenon joints, bay framing, and the shift from earthfast posts to raised sill beams transformed timber construction and made upper storeys possible. These technical advances were closely tied to growing consumer demand, as clients became increasingly specific about layout, timber size, and stylistic features. As Dyer writes:
They adapted to changing times: at a time of commercial and urban growth in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries they devised new framing methods. In the fourteenth and fifteenth they can be observed, mainly from the evidence of standing and excavated buildings, negotiating with their clients, no doubt advising them, but also observing their preferences. They could vary their methods and introduce new designs.
Overall, Dyer’s analysis of carpenters in England shows that they were skilled, adaptable professionals whose work reached into every corner of medieval life. They built everything from peasant houses to grand cathedrals, introduced new techniques, and responded to customers’ preferences as commercial society expanded. As Dyer concludes, “they should be recognised, alongside clothmakers, shipbuilders and others engaged in innovative and productive activities, as contributing to the long-term process of industrialisation.”
Christopher Dyer’s article, “Carpenters: An important craft in England, 1200-1540,” is published in the journal Vernacular Architecture. Click here to read it.
Carpenters played a crucial role in the economy and daily life of medieval England. In a new article, Christopher Dyer brings together documentary and architectural evidence to reveal what we can now say about the craft and the people who practised it during the later Middle Ages.
How Many Carpenters Lived in Medieval England?
One of the strongest insights from Dyer’s article is the sheer ubiquity of carpenters in medieval England. They appear in villages, small market towns, major urban centres, and forested regions where timber was abundant. Using evidence from the 1379–1381 poll taxes, Dyer estimates more than 10,000 carpenters were active around 1380 — or about one in every 270 people was employed in the craft. Their presence spans every kind of medieval settlement, demonstrating that carpentry was a cornerstone trade, not a marginal or urban-only occupation.
How Far Carpenters Travelled for Work
Mobility was a key feature of the carpentry trade in medieval England. Using 158 cases where both a carpenter’s home and place of work can be identified, Dyer shows that carpenters travelled widely depending on the scale and prestige of the project. About a third stayed within their own town or village, especially in larger centres such as London or Oxford where work was plentiful. Another third travelled modest distances—up to 12 miles—for routine building tasks, moving between neighbouring communities for house repairs, timber framing, and small construction jobs. This mobility created a wide regional labour market in which both rural and urban carpenters crossed boundaries when opportunities arose.
The remaining third travelled far greater distances, sometimes more than 50 miles, and these long journeys correlate strongly with major building campaigns. As Dyer explains, “The scale of the work varied from mending a door or replacing decayed timber at a cost of a few shillings, to building a small house or a parish church roof for £5 or £10, and at the top of the hierarchy were the large-scale and costly construction projects on castles and major churches.” This pattern demonstrates how the most ambitious projects drew carpenters across counties, creating a network of skilled workers who operated well beyond local boundaries.
“Celebrity” Carpenters
At the highest level of the profession were carpenters whom Dyer describes as “celebrities”—craftsmen sought out by prominent and wealthy patrons for major architectural commissions. These elite carpenters moved between castles, colleges, and cathedrals, often travelling long distances because their expertise was in high demand. Richard Felsted of London, for example, was hired in 1342 to install new roofs at Kenilworth Castle for a substantial fee of 250 marks. Even more renowned was Hugh Herland, whose late fourteenth-century career included work at Carisbrooke Castle, Porchester Castle, New College, Winchester College, Winchester Castle, and Westminster Hall. Dyer notes, “Such a leading carpenter did not wield an axe, but advised on designs and supervised others, resembling a modern consultant.”
How Carpenters Learned Their Trade
Training for carpenters in the Later Middle Ages followed two parallel paths: formal apprenticeship and informal, hands-on learning. Only a small number of formal indentures survive before the sixteenth century—Dyer notes that in the 1530s, just one carpenter and one “ship carpenter” appear among Bristol’s recorded apprentices. Some towns issued regulations requiring carpenters to serve apprenticeships, but the rules were not always followed. London shows a clearer pattern: between 1477 and 1551, 435 apprenticeships were recorded, though many did not complete their terms, and even those who did often failed to advance to the level of master craftsman.
Alongside these formal systems ran a broad, flexible world of informal learning, where carpenters trained boys or servants directly on the job. Sons often learned by assisting their fathers, creating small family clusters within rural villages. Yet hereditary succession remained rare: only 26% of carpenters in York gained the freedom of the city through patrimony, compared with 65% of butchers. This suggests that carpentry was an open, accessible craft, drawing newcomers with little family connection to the trade.
How Wealthy Were Carpenters?
The wealth of medieval carpenters varied widely depending on where they lived and the scale of the work they performed. Many carpenters appear in records as householders and modest landowners, suggesting a stable but not affluent standard of living. In towns, where demand for building was constant, some managed to acquire property. Dyer notes that in Coventry several carpenters held not only their own homes but additional cottages for subletting, and in Winchester they owned more property than masons or smiths. These cases indicate that urban carpenters could sometimes accumulate assets—usually when they occupied stable positions within busy local markets.
However, these property-owning craftsmen were the minority. Most carpenters were not particularly wealthy, and many combined carpentry with agricultural labour or other side tasks to make ends meet. Overall, carpenter wealth ranged from comfortable but limited prosperity in towns to far more modest circumstances in rural settings—reflecting the wide spectrum of economic roles within the craft.
Their Reputation
Carpenters held an essential but often undervalued place in medieval society. Their skills were widely relied upon—they advised town officials, assessed building works, and were even praised in poetry for their craftsmanship. However, as Dyer notes, “Contemporaries sought their services, but do not seem to have held them in high regard. They were perhaps taken for granted, and caused disappointment when they did not always live up to expectations.”
Carpenters, Innovation, and Medieval Building Styles
Dyer places carpenters at the centre of the twelfth- and thirteenth-century “building revolution,” when innovations such as squared timbers, widespread mortice-and-tenon joints, bay framing, and the shift from earthfast posts to raised sill beams transformed timber construction and made upper storeys possible. These technical advances were closely tied to growing consumer demand, as clients became increasingly specific about layout, timber size, and stylistic features. As Dyer writes:
They adapted to changing times: at a time of commercial and urban growth in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries they devised new framing methods. In the fourteenth and fifteenth they can be observed, mainly from the evidence of standing and excavated buildings, negotiating with their clients, no doubt advising them, but also observing their preferences. They could vary their methods and introduce new designs.
Overall, Dyer’s analysis of carpenters in England shows that they were skilled, adaptable professionals whose work reached into every corner of medieval life. They built everything from peasant houses to grand cathedrals, introduced new techniques, and responded to customers’ preferences as commercial society expanded. As Dyer concludes, “they should be recognised, alongside clothmakers, shipbuilders and others engaged in innovative and productive activities, as contributing to the long-term process of industrialisation.”
Christopher Dyer’s article, “Carpenters: An important craft in England, 1200-1540,” is published in the journal Vernacular Architecture. Click here to read it.
Christopher Dyer is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Leicester and one of the leading medieval historians when it comes to everyday life in the Middle Ages. Among his many works is Making a Living in the Middle Ages: The People of Britain, 850-1520.
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