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The arrival of the Norman rulers made very little difference to the homes of the ordinary peasant. Despite the continued growth of towns, by now maybe 17,000 people lived in London and 3,000 in Oxford, at the time of the Norman conquest, ninety percent of people still lived and worked in the country. Their cottages would probably be just one room, the walls made of wattle and daub (remember that), the floor was earth and smoke from the fire in the middle of the room went out through a hole in the roof. That was also where the rain came in. They would have some straw mattresses to sleep on, a table, a couple of benches and a chest. If lucky they would have candles as the homes had very little light coming in. Waking hours were usually ruled by the sun; when it went down so did you and when it rose in the morning, so did you. The castles, where the Norman barons lived, were far grander especially when they began to build them of stone. By about 1180AD rich people began to have glass windows not seen since Roman times. These castles were also the centre of power. This would be where records were kept, where the courts operated and also where people who had broken the law would be imprisoned. It was also the place where peasants would come and pay their taxes and any fines they had received. You can read a bit more about how the castles were built in our timeline section.
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