[Illustration: 118. Felbrigge Hall, Norfolk. (Early 17th cent.)] [Illustration: 119. Marton Hall, Cheshire. (Now destroyed.)] In the western counties timber and plaster were freely used; Cheshire, Lancashire, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire afford the finest and most ornamental examples of this method of construction, while Kent, Surrey, and Sussex in the south have a fair amount of plainer work of the same kind. In these houses the main walls are formed of stout timber framed together, with the interstices filled in with lath and plaster. The structural timbers are left visible; most of them are vertical, but they are braced together at intervals by horizontal timbers, and are occasionally further strengthened by sloping struts. This framework itself makes a pleasing pattern and satisfies the eye as to the strength and stability of the fabric. The timbers are always of large scantling, and are nearly equal in their total area to the spaces that are left between them. These characteristics are common to all the examples illustrated (Figs. 119–123). But whereas in the southern counties, and to a great extent in Worcestershire, the designers were satisfied to leave their work in this simple form, in Lancashire, and more particularly in Cheshire, they added interest and richness to the effect by placing curved braces within some of the panels, thus producing patterns of more or less intricacy. Variations in the shape of the curves resulted in variations of pattern, and the variety of effects thus obtained is quite remarkable. A simple example is Marton Hall, near Congleton, now destroyed (Fig. 119); a more elaborate one is the well-known Little Moreton Hall in the same district. But the finest specimen of a half-timber house is Bramhall Hall, near Stockport (Fig. 120), which is not only quaint and picturesque, but in places approaches as near to stateliness as such homely materials allow. Lancashire at one time fell little short of Cheshire in attractive examples, but before the constant spread of its manufacturing centres they are rapidly disappearing. Throughout large districts of Worcestershire such black-and-white houses as that at Shell Farm (Fig. 121) may be seen. They are quite simple, but they give a cheerful aspect to the countryside, especially when the spring time surrounds them with bright green foliage and the pink and white blossoms of the orchards. In Sussex and Kent the use of half-timber work was not so general, nor was there nearly as much play of fancy as in Cheshire, the design being seldom of more elaborate character than that at Sedlescombe (Fig. 122) and Brad Street (Fig. 123). [Illustration: 120. Bramhall Hall, near Stockport, Cheshire.] [Illustration: 121. Shell Farm, near Droitwich, Worcestershire.] [Illustration: 122. The Manor House, Sedlescombe, Sussex.] [Illustration: 123. House at Brad Street, Kent.]