Current Press Releases
Regional event: An introduction to the conservation of old buildings.
Date
19 November 2005
New Bucks, Berks & Oxon regional coordinator for the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), Tina Isodoros, is launching the group's first regional event, An Introduction to Traditional Repair and Conservation of Old Buildings & Cottages, on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th of November supporting SPAB's annual National Maintenance Week campaign.
With the help of the National Trust, the event will be at the King's Head coaching inn in Aylesbury's Market Square between 1pm and 4.30pm. Offering helpful fact sheets and information the event is designed for everyone interested in the maintenance and care of old buildings - from quaint cottages to moated manor houses. Tina and other SPAB members will also be displaying photographs of the repair work they have been undertaking on their properties and are happy to share their own knowledge and experience.
The event is part of SPAB's 2005 National Maintenance Week (November 18 - 25) an annual awareness campaign to encourage anyone who cares for a building to be aware of the simple steps they can take at the beginning of winter to stave off the necessity of making costly and intrusive repairs at a later date. This year the main theme is damp, which can be greatly exacerbated by the mistaken use of modern cement and damp-proofing.
SPAB is Britain's oldest heritage body, established by William Morris in 1877. Today it is a dynamic, practical, conservation organisation with a mission to educate, advise, train and campaign.
Owners of historic buildings often experience challenges as they repair their property and can be overwhelmed with anxiety at escalating costs and work. One of the common problems encountered is damp and its subsequent structural decay. Tina explains: "Our historic buildings were originally built with traditional and organic materials such as lime, wychert (cob), mud, straw, brick, stone and timber beams. Mother Nature's materials are organically flexible and ‘breathable', and don't need a Guarantee Certificate! Yet we have been entombing them with modern impermeable building materials like cement, chemical paints and gypsum plasters. And we wonder why we are having problems!"
The event at Aylesbury's King Head is designed to be informative and supportive for period property owners. Tina says: " We will have lots of information that owners of old buildings would find extremely useful, as well as local builders interested in reviving the ancient crafts for traditional repair and conservation. It will be a fascinating insight for other owners to see what conservation repairs actually look like. They will probably recognise familiar problems they are experiencing in their cottages! And we will be arranging demonstrations of lime, limewashes, clay paints.... "
Owned by the National Trust, The King's Head is a captivating example of a traditional coaching inn. Visitors can enjoy coffee and mince pies in the Bookshop, or the Chiltern Brewery's ales and food in the Farmers Bar.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
SPAB Volunteers' First Event
An Introduction to Traditional Repair and Conservation of Old Buildings & Cottages
Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 November, 1-4.30pm
Kings Head: The Bookshop, Market Square, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) was founded by William Morris 125 years ago to care for and preserve the UK's architectural heritage. Since its foundation, SPAB has been committed to maintenance matters, in line with William Morris' exhortation to: "Stave off decay by daily care." Today it is a dynamic organisation, and registered charity (no. 231307), taking building conservation into the future. To find out more visit www.spab.org.uk / www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk
Event Coming Soon: Education & Training - Launching Traditional Heritage Building Skills in Bucks, Berks & Oxon especially for local builders interested in finding out more about conservation repairs and encouraging young people to consider rewarding careers in conservation and apprenticeships with master craftsmen.
