Profiling of timber framed filler

[Anonymous]

It seems to be a traditional practice when filling the spces between old timber -framed buildings ,to form a convex surface which is proud of the exposed timbers. My own ( 16thc ) building displays this finish but having lost large areas of its protective rendering revealing mixed stone and rubble filler is now in need of a re-fill. There is a 3 foot wide roof overhang all round the house which gives good protection to the walls. What was the reason for this convexing ? It seems to offer no great protection to the timbers against bad weather. Would it be O.K. to re-fil with pieces of a local sand coloured stone ( about 1" thick ) bedded into lime mortar - which would not be proud of the overall wall surface ?

 

[Anonymous]

If I understand you correctly, you're saying that your house is timber-frame, with a rendered stone infill between the timbers, which are themselves still exposed (ie: unrendered). And the infill bulges proud of the timbers. Is that right?
If so (and I'm just making an uneducated guess) could it simply be that several layers of additional render have been applied over the year/centuries, thereby causing progressively more bulging? Or has the wall structure sagged outwards a bit and then been re-rendered to stabilise it?
Whatever the answer, I can't believe it would be structurally wrong to do as you propose, although you could find that the reduced thickness of the infill also reduces the insulation properties of the wall.

 

[Anonymous]

Is the house listed?