The roofs were thatched with bark, straw, reeds or rushes.
Their houses, regularly ranged in streets, are built of adobes thatched with coarse grass.
The roof was thatched, and perhaps had a gable at each end with a hole to allow the smoke of the wood fire to escape.
In spite of Fitzstephen's glowing description we must remember that the houses of London were wholly built of wood and thatched with straw or reeds.
A thatched roof is imperative in the orthodox shrine, but in modern days tiles or sheets of copper are sometimes substituted.