House by the Market Place, Brentford

Image: © Stefan Czapski Taken: 14 Jun 2014

Two very typical 18th century features are visible in this shot. One is the gambrel roof, rising steeply above the eaves, the other is the blank window over the doorway. I believe that both features were - at least in part - a response to taxation. A tax on glazing meant that window spaces were bricked up rather than glazed - a feature seen in grand buildings as well as modest ones (like this). I suspect that the fashion for gambrel roofs may have been encouraged by the tax levied on bricks. The doubled-pitched roof - rising steeply from the eaves, then switching to a gentler slope higher up - may well have been a means of enclosing substantial attic space without using bricks. Slates and tiles were not taxable. However, that hypothesis is my own - I have not seen it put forward by the authorities on the subject. And it doesn't account for all the observable facts, as timber-framed, weather-boarded houses may also be found with gambrel roofs: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2211367

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