Hall houses were built for Yeoman farmers across England between the 13th and 16th centuries. The basic layout consisted of a central hall with an open hearth ventilated via a hole in the roof. Layout varied – some hall houses had a two-storey wing at one end, while others had a two-storey wing at both ends. Wealden hall houses, found mostly in South-East England, were different again: their double wings were flush with the rest of the building at ground level, but jutted out at second-floor level.

The distinctive timber framed walls were filled with earth, dung and horse hair; the floors were made of chalk and sour milk (an early form of concrete), and the roofs were steep thatched hipped roofs, later to be upgraded to clay tile. These houses were built to last, which is why so many examples exist today, though almost all have been remodelled and extended over the last five centuries.

Well-known hall houses include the National Trust's first ever aqcuisition in 1896: Alfriston Clergy House, in East Sussex, and Bayleaf farmhouse at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex.

Velhurst Farm, Cranleigh, Surrey

The oldest part of this Grade II-listed Wealden hall house is believed to date from the early 16th century, with later 18th- and 20th-century additions. Though it has been sympathetically enlarged and upgraded, it retains many of its original period features, including much exposed structural timber, leaded windows and a magnificent inglenook fireplace.