How did housing in a medieval town differ from the housing on a manor?

Answer 1

The housing of medieval villages consisted primarily of cottages, small houses of one or two rooms, most commonly of wooden construction with wattle and daub walls and a thatched roof. On occasion a house would be more complex, but this was rare and possible only for the wealthiest of the villagers. Houses would typically surrounded by a enclosed yard were animals and utilitarian out buildings could be found, and were adjacent to an area called a croft, essentially a large garden area that might be as large as a half acre or even an acre.

In towns the individual cottage was still sometimes found, but much more common was the existence of tenements. Buildings in medieval towns tended to be multi-purpose. The buildings could be anywhere from two to four floors, including cellars and garrets, and would include living space, workshops, commercial spaces for business, and storage for merchants. It was not uncommon for a shop to have living space above or behind it.

Living conditions in medieval towns was more crowded than in the villages. Townhouses were often very close together, or even connected to one anther (the modern usage of the term townhouse is in fact very similar to a medieval house, a long narrow structure often attached to additional units). A house rarely contained only a single nuclear family. The wealthy would have servants or employees that lived with them, apprentices would live with their masters, and like in modern living conditions roommate arrangements were made, where individuals or families would share a house. The urban poor would often rent just part of a house, such as an individual chamber off of a courtyard or the garret of a house. Most people lived at or near their work, and for any craftsmen getting to work was no more complicated that going downstairs to the workshop and opening for business for the day.