Bishops’ House is what we call a half timbered building, with a frame of load bearing timber infilled with plaster, wood and other materials.  The stone layer on the lower half of the building was added long after the the building was first constructed, either replacing infill materials or clad over them, leaving the upper half as the familiar ‘Tudor’ black and white timber and plaster walls.  Apart from Bishops’ House, there are only two other buildings in Sheffield of this style; Broomhall and the Queen’s Head pub (previously known as the Hall in the Ponds).  

The three buildings that have survived are not typical homes from this period. The lower stone layer added structural support and protected the building from the elements, but it was a ‘home improvement’ only the more affluent owners could afford with their high quality buildings.   Most buildings would have been more modest and of the simpler ‘cruck framed’ construction.