British houses throughout history

Данная викторина применима при изучении темы Past Simple Passive в разделе о британских городах и деревнях. https://play.kahoot.it/v2/?quizId=c41627c7-3159-42c4-a9f8-a4aafc1ff21a

Script.

Lesson 6

Ex.2a)

The Celts lived in villages, where round houses were built with thatched roofs made of straw. The houses had no windows, so they were built facing the sun to get as much heat and light as possible. The Celtic family all lived in one room. Sometimes animals were brought into the house for the night to keep them warm and safe.

For some time the Celts lived side by side with the Romans, but Roman houses of rich people were so well built that some remains of these villas and even towns have been found. Roman homes were made of brick and stone; they even had glass windows and stone mosaic floors and there was under-floor heating.

The Romans were followed by the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons did not understand the Roman ways, so villas, streets and baths were soon forgotten. The Saxon houses were wooden huts; only churches were constructed in stone. There was no glass in the windows. Most window frames were made from wood.  The floor was dirty and it was covered with reeds – grass-like plants that grow together in groups near water. Sometimes animals were kept inside. Anglo-Saxon villages were usually situated on river banks or near forests as they needed water and food to survive. Around Anglo-Saxon villages high fences were built to keep domestic animals safe from wolves and foxes.    

The houses of the Vikings were built from local materials such as wood, stone or blocks of turf. They were long and rectangular. Viking houses were often one-room homes with a cooking fire in the middle. Animals were kept at one end of the house while the people lived at the other. 

Tudor period dates back to the 15^th and 16^th centuries. Some of these 500-year-old buildings can still be seen in Britain. Tudor houses are usually black-and-white and mostly made of wood. The houses were cut by hand. Many early Tudor houses had thatched roofs. Stone was very expensive and only the homes of very rich, castles and churches were built of stone. Metal window frames were first found in the 16^th century and they were usually handmade.  It was during the Tudor times that glass was first used in homes. To make big pieces of glass was difficult and very expensive. That’s why Tudor windows consist of many small parts. Tudor chimneys were very tall and thin. The chimneys which were made from cut brick could only be found on rich houses as poor houses had none.

After the Great Fire of London in 1666 new homes were made from fire-resistant materials. The Georgian period came as the Kings of England had the name George at that time. A typical Georgian house in the 18^th century was elegant and formal in style. Most houses at that time were square and symmetrical. Rich people used to have lots of windows, the poor - one window per floor, because people had to pay for having more windows. 

You need a lot of things in your house today: several rooms, large windows, running water, gas, electricity, central heating, etc. A Victorian gentleman would have to share an outside toilet with everyone else in the street. The Victorian period is the time when the country was ruled by Queen Victoria. For the first time all cottages, factories, churches and hotels all over the country were built from the same material which was transported to different parts of Britain by railways. In Victorian Britain houses were mostly made of bricks, sometimes – from coloured bricks. Houses had chimneys because there were fireplaces in most rooms. Some people moved to new Victorian blocks of flats.