ABSTRACT The search for more sustainable construction methods has renewed interest in straw-bale construction. Rectangular straw bales stacked in a running bond and plastered on the interior and exterior faces have been shown to have adequate strength to resist typical loads found in one- and two-storey structures. The straw bales provide excellent insulation, while possessing low embodied energy compared to conventional insulation materials. The structural behaviour of a load-bearing plastered straw-bale wall subject to uniform compressive loading has been the focus of a number of studies reported in the literature. However, in a typical building wall, there will be numerous locations (such as around window and door openings) where the load paths produce areas of concentrated stress. The behaviour in these regions cannot necessarily be predicted using tests from uniformly loaded wall assemblies. This paper describes experiments on plastered single bale assemblies subjected to three-point bending. These a...