The charm of mediaeval architecture lies not in its intrinsic beauty alone. It is a link with our ancestors. We are looking at buildings which they saw. The essence of the past still lingers like the notes of distant music, faintly heard, and for a while our spirits are in tune. Old buildings mirror the conditions of their time, and the dwelling-house most of all. More than any other form of architecture, the mediaeval house reflects the daily life of a period, and yet, until recently, it has seldom been studied as a whol