Alan Ritchie offers a complete design service for outline planning – he can furnish you with sets of bespoke working drawings.
Alan Ritchie hand-crafts timber frame buildings to suit individual needs; he sources his construction timber from local woodsmen.
The most advanced timber framers were the early English craftsmen, whose awe-inspiring halls and cathedrals, displaying rich and sophisticated detail, can be found still standing, over eight centuries later, their frames projecting an air of steadfast strength. Belied by their proud appearance is the fact that they could be held together by something as humble as a simple wooden pin, yet it is true. The pins are often carved from the same wood as the frame itself. True to their name, timber frames consist of exactly that: timber.
To ensure the long life of their constructions, a timber framer must have, besides superb skill of measurement and foresight, a deeply held respect for the nature of wood they use, and the artistic vision to maintain the traditional principles that have stood the test of time. The following examples display the creations of one such timber framer: Alan Ritchie, a modern craftsman of venerable talent.
Interior view.
Inside the building, the frame is exposed, displayed for the residents to enjoy.
Interior view. That’s a tie beam going across the foreground.
View from inside a shelter.
View from inside a shelter. Notice the wooden pegs used to join the braces to the beams. Alan Ritchie’s frames use timber throughout their construction.
Wood panelling.
Tie beam support brace.
Tie beam support braces.
A timber frame and stone wall house. Two natural materials combined for strength, longevity and appropriate seasonal temperature.
Interior view of a tie beam.
Support braces.
An example of the ancient timber framing process applied in a modern case: a garage.
Cruck spurs mount the exterior shape to the core framework.
Exploded tie beam lap dovetail assembly.
The trigonometry of a frame truss.
Jowl and teasel tenons.
A key to illustrate the fitting of a dovetail tenon to a vertical beam.
Dragon tie beams strengthen the frame hip.
A restoration project.
Alan and his team stand beneath a large and intricate frame.
The detailed joints of a car port interior.
A cut frame waiting for the crane.
Crucks waiting for the crane to lift them into place.
The tie beams of an oak barn in Clyro.
A barn restoration project in Clyro.
Roof beams of a timber frame and stone wall barn.
A top plate.
Montage of the Westenburt arboretum.
Part of the construction of Abingdon boat house – a huge project.