Bremberthwaite Manor (TCG)

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Bremberthwaite is a small fortified house. As such, it has only room for one family, if we think in terms of a modern family's use of space.
However, medieval people lived under much more crowded conditions. This manor house would shelter the family of a knight or minor lord, several house servants. and a retinue of maybe half a dozen men at arms, who could also help out on the estate when not engaged in warfare.
As such, the Master of Bremberthwaite would be seen as at the bottom of the pyramid of subinfeudation. This was the process of greater lords granting smaller estates to lesser lords out of their lands, in exchange for military service when called upon.
The House itself is not all there is to the manor. There would be fields associated with the house, and perhaps a village. Various wooden farm buildings (in some of which serfs slept with the animals they tended) would be around the estate. There would certainly be a well or spring for water very nearby. A diligent owner would encircle the Manor House with a wall: a wooden palisade, perhaps. or even a stone hedge; thus a small castle would come into being with the enclosure of the bailey.
On the other hand, we could also see Bremberthwaite as a house taken over by a non-warrior. As a small estate left by its lord (who has gone on to greater things) the keep could be left in the charge of a steward or even sold. Likely new owners might be a Master Thief looking to move up the social scale, a mage looking for a secure home that doesn't require a huge staff, or even a priest-the manor house could be made over into a house of worship or small monastery with little effort, at least until better things were affordable.
For its size, Bremberthwaite is a secure little keep. The one door is well secured, and the roofs of the hall, tower, and stair turret are battlemented. In a pinch, a much larger population (i.e., that of the whole estate) could withdraw into the house for protection.
The great window of the hall and the first story window-seats pose problems, as they are very near the ground. The great window could be broken; the window-seats could be climbed into. However, all the window-seats can be shuttered and barred. One could design shutters for the great window, but this is unnecessary trouble. Positioning the window-end of the House by a slope makes it harder to enter through a broken window (although missiles could still enter that way).
Built into the walls are a midden (basement level) and a cistern (2nd story). The midden is a medieval cesspit, into which the two garderobes (medieval privies) empty.
It is entered by an exterior hatch, and must be cleaned out every couple of years, at minimum. The cistern is a water tank collecting rain water through a screened drain on the tower roof. In case of emergency, this is the tower's only interior water supply. Figuring its size at roughly 3' wide, 12' long, and 9' high, its volume is 324 cubic feet, or about 2.424 gallons. In the case of sudden attack and siege, assume that there are (1d12+12)x100 gallons on hand. On strict rationing, each person will use 1 gallon of water per day for all purposes.
The door has a small portcullis hindering access to the wooden door, which can be barred. The basement tower windows are small, high up openings, with per. manent metal grills set in the masonry. They are at the top of sloping window shafts that bring light into the tower.
==Map Key==
: 1. Lower Hall. As one enters the hall, there is a candle sconce by the door on one's left, next to a wooden wall. Pegs for hanging clothing are along that wall, and a mirror (metal or glass) hangs by the open doorway at the end of the wall.
: Opposite the doorway is a hanging tapestry, attempting to cut down on the draftiness of all medieval buildings. Immediately to the right of the doorway is an inglenook: an enclosed bench, with rugs and cushions within, designed to catch the warmth from the fireplace, and keep it from being dissipated.
: There are two large fireplaces flanking the hall. Also facing the fireplace on the door-ward side is a large armchair. Behind it on the outside wall is a cabinet (hutch) holding various costly things (such as the lord's drinking horn). In front of the other fireplace is a long table with benches along the sides, and two wooden upright chairs at either end. For further details see room 7. It would not be unusual for the men at arms to sleep in the Hall.
: 2. Kitchen. A large fireplace is in the end wall, flanked by shelves for cooking gear. A round table and couple of chairs is in the center of the room (here the cook holds court). A work table stands opposite. Built into the tower wall by the door is a stone sink, with piping coming down from the cistern above. A valve turns the water on and off. If left open, the entire cistern would drain into the kitchen (quite a mess). A three-legged stool sits by the hearth. Various drying herbs and vegetables hang from the rafters, which support a ceiling about 15' above the floor. In a pinch, kitchen servants would sleep in the kitchen, leaving room 4 (see below) available for more important folks.
: 3. Storage. The basement of the tower has a fireplace, and could be used for many things. However, someplace has to be set aside to put everything: crates. boxes, kegs, sacks. The spiral stair begins here. A secret door is built into the hall going to the stair, leading back into a small passageway. A locked door there closes off a room labelled "V", for Vault.
: 4. Servants. The first story tower room is a pleasant, well lit room. There are two window seats, a fireplace, and a garderobe; a curtain hangs before the hall to the stair. A couple of three-legged stools and a wooden couch are by the fire.
: Clothes presses are by the opposite wall. Four beds (sleeping up to 8 servants without being considered crowded) are here, with night tables between them. A small round table with a couple of chairs completes the furniture.
: 5. Balcony. This is the sitting room of the manor house. There is a window seat here, as well as a fireplace with two chairs and a bearskin rug in front of it. A desk and chair face the outside wall. next to a hanging tapestry on the tower wall. A candle sconce is by the door. A table and chairs are in the center.
: One can stand by the balcony rail, and look down into the hall.
: 6. Winch. This small balcony leads to the winch, which operates the portcullis.
: 7. Upper Hall. The hall is two stories high, and this area is open air, showing what hangs above the heads of those standing in 1. below.
: Two large chandeliers give light to the area. An elk head is displayed over one fireplace, shield and banners over the other. A 15" diameter round window pierces the end wall at this level. This is he only glass window in the house, and it is quite a showpiece. made of stained glass.
: 8. Bedroom. This is the master bedroom of the house. A canopy bed for the master and mistress is here. with dotted lines showing that beneath the bed could be a large chest for treasure, or a trundle bed for children. The walls are hung with tapestries. There is a garderobe, two window-seats, and a fireplace. A large rug is in the center of the room. Two chairs, a small table, and a footstool stand before the fireplace. Two clothes presses and a desk and chair set complete the furnishings.
: 9. Roof. A pitched timber roof covers the hall. A battlemented walk surrounds the edge, with corner bastions built out upon corbels.
: 10. Tower Roof. A conical timber roof covers the tower. A battlemented walk surrounds the edge. Note that opposite the chimneypot on one side is the collector-pipe for the cistern on the other side.
: 11. Turret. The spiral staircase ends in a turret. As designed, there is no door. In a normal medieval building, there would be no need. However, in a fantasy setting, where flight is possible, this is a weak point in the defenses. The battlements are built out upon cor. bels.
: 12. Turret Roof. This conical roof covers the staircase top.