"The major rural buildings were sunken-floor...or post-hole buildings...Even the elite had simple buildings, with a central fire and a hole in the roof to let the smoke escape [clever innovation] and the largest of which rarely had more than one floor, and one room. [modest people.] Buildings vary widely in size, most were square or rectangular, though some round houses have been found. Frequently these buildings have sunken floors; a shallow pit over which a plank floor was suspended. The pit may have been used for storage, but more likely was filled with straw for winter insulation. [Straw under the (one room) floor! How much was fire insurance in those days?] A variation on the sunken floor design is found in towns, where the "basement" may be as deep as 9 feet, suggesting a storage or work area below a suspended floor. Another common design was simple post framing, with heavy posts set directly into the ground, supporting the roof. [K.I.S.S.!] The space between the posts was filled in with wattle and daub, or occasionally, planks.[Smart thinkin' fillin' in those spaces between posts!] The floors were generally packed earth, ["packed" earth] though planks were sometimes used. [Fancy, fancy!] Roofing materials varied, with thatch being the most common, though turf and even wooden shingles were also used. [Define "tinder box.]

"Stone could be was used, [SIC!] and it was used to build churches.

"The building of churches in Anglo-Saxon England...:

"A simple nave without aisles...
"east of this a chancel arch...
"Flanking the apse and side chambers...
"In Northumbria...important churches being built in timber. Masonry churches...prominent from the late 7th century... These buildings had long naves...small rectangular chancels... porticus... Elaborate crypts... The best preserved early Northumbrian church is Escomb Church."

Escomb Church! Two of my ancestors were married there.