Historic Building workshop, Care and repair of historic brickwork, Wimpole Hall, Royston

Historic Building workshops

Care & repair of historic brickwork

Date: Friday 11 May 2018

When: 0930 – 1700

Where: Hardwicke Arms and Wimpole Hall

Cost:  £125.00 plus VAT (£150.00) to include seminar proceedings, all refreshments, lunch, entry to Wimpole Estate and comprehensive delegate pack

The day’s course will consider in depth three aspects of building conservation.

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• The care and repair of historic brickwork
• Understanding historic mortars and the use of lime in conservation
• The historic fabric of Wimpole Hall

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The morning session will take place at  Hardwick Arms which is a 10  walk from from Wimple Hall across the Estate. Free parking is available

The venue has been carefully chosen as it represents a fine example of a country house and associated buildings constructed in brick. The core dates to 1650 but the main façade and much of the interior was remodelled in the 18^th century. A number of famous architects worked on the property during that century including James Gibbs, Sir James Thornhill and Henry Flitcroft. The garden and parkland also had the attention of such big name designers as Charles Bridgeman, Capability Brown and Humphry Repton.  A small amount of remodelling was undertaken in the 19^th century but bankruptcy and sales of contents left the house in a poor state for the 20^th century. The house had some restoration work done by the last owner who died in 1976 leaving the whole estate to the National Trust.

The day will include formal Power Point presentations and material handling sessions in the morning at the nearby Hardwicke Arms, and then in the afternoon a visit to the hall for first hand observations of the building and the details of its construction.

Speaker

Kevin Stubbs BA(Hons)  DipBldgCons(AA)  IHBC   CertEd

Kevin Stubbs is a Historic Buildings Consultant and comes with a background of education, archaeology and building conservation. He was Director of Archaeology for the Test Valley in Hampshire and later moved to Hampshire County Council to join the Historic Buildings Bureau, where he became the Principal Buildings Conservation Officer for the County. For eleven years he acted as the Director of a Conservation Centre and now runs his own Historic Building Consultancy and Training Company.

He advises on the repair and maintenance of all historic structures and provides training at all levels for the building conservation industry.  This includes the development of historic building technology, traditional materials and hands-on craft training.  Work for Local Government Authorities includes Conservation Area appraisals, historic building condition surveys and feasibility studies.  He has provided training exercises with local communities to raise awareness of their village plans and local heritage interpretation documents and he has provided Traditional Skills Awareness Courses for a number of bodies. He undertakes the Historic Analysis of buildings and produces: Statements of Significance; Method Statements; Impact Assessments and Specifications for the repair and conservation of traditional buildings.

He lectures for various CPD providers, Universities and national building conservation organizations including SPAB, RICS and the Weald and Downland Museum.  Topics include: Bricks and Mortar; Lime, Plasters and Renders; Cob and Earth, Timber Frame and Stone Structures and Traditional Roofing.

Main themes

Care and repair of historic brickwork

Bricks have been a principal building material in many parts of the country since the 16^th century.  The history and development of brick buildings and brickmaking will be examined up to the middle of the 20^th century when bricks ceased to be a mainly local vernacular material and became a mass produced product by a few large international companies.

A selection of different types of bricks from different sources and periods will be handled and discussed, paying particular attention to how they were made and fired and how this affected their durability and character. Looking closely at historic brickwork can give clues as to how the bricks were manufactured and laid and what alterations the building has gone through since its original construction.  This process can be likened to reading a detective story: the clues are there, they just need interpreting by the observer, thus enabling a correct and aesthetically pleasing repair/restoration to be achieved.

Bricks have been a principal building material in many parts of the country since the 16^th century.  The history and development of brick buildings and brickmaking will be examined up to the middle of the 20^th century when bricks ceased to be a mainly local vernacular material and became a mass produced product by a few large international companies.

A selection of different types of bricks from different sources and periods will be handled and discussed, paying particular attention to how they were made and fired and how this affected their durability and character. Looking closely at historic brickwork can give clues as to how the bricks were manufactured and laid and what alterations the building has gone through since its original construction.  This process can be likened to reading a detective story: the clues are there, they just need interpreting by the observer, thus enabling a correct and aesthetically pleasing repair/restoration to be achieved.

Understanding historic mortars and the use of lime in the conservation of brickwork

The first important stage of this process is to identify the sources which have caused the problems of decay to occur; these must be resolved before the brickwork can be repaired.  It is also important to understand the nature and function of historic mortars and the dangers of the use of modern cementitious products.  The use of inappropriate mortars can result in the rapid deterioration of historic masonry and long term structural problems. The problems of water movement, salts, frost and the cleaning of brickwork a will be examined.  The methods of re-pointing will also be considered, not only for aesthetic reasons, but to ensure the correct performance and durability of the new joint.

The Historic Fabric of Wimpole Hall

The hall and its associated buildings display a wide range of traditional building materials and methods of construction. There are a variety of brick bonds and joint finishes and examples of decay and repair.

Also stone was widely used for decorative purposes externally and the patterns of decay and methods of repair observable.

The interior shows the changing fashions of decoration and design during the 18^th century with fine detailing of plasterwork, joinery and metalwork. The “below stairs” areas are an interesting contrast and in some places the problems of damp and decay are clearly evident.