Historic Building Day
🗓️ Date: Wednesday 3 June
⏰ Time: 0930 – 1630
📍 Location: Newbury
Join us for an engaging and insightful CPD day dedicated to surveyors working with historic buildings. This event offers a valuable opportunity to deepen your understanding of traditional construction methods, conservation principles, and the unique challenges posed by heritage structures. Through expert-led sessions, real-world case studies, and practical guidance, you’ll enhance your ability to assess, repair, and preserve historic fabric with confidence and care. Whether you’re looking to refine your technical knowledge or stay up to date with best practices and regulations, this CPD day will equip you with the skills and insights needed to excel in the specialist field of historic building surveying.
The day will include include:
Marianne Suhr who will speak on:
- Retrofitting walls and roofs in solid walled structures
- Repairing timber framed buildings
Kevin Stubbs who will speak on:
- Historic brickwork
Henry Landis, Historic England who will speak on:
- fire safety issues for heritage buildings including compartmentation, fire doors, fire strategy and sprinklers,. emergency planning preparing for a number of incident types including salvage plans.
The event will be held at the historically interesting Shaw House in Newbury
Shaw House is a significant example of an early symmetrical H-plan Elizabethan architecture mansion, situated in the village of Shaw on the north-eastern edge of Newbury. The house is designated Grade I listed building, while its surrounding park and gardens are listed at Grade II.
Constructed in 1581 for the wealthy cloth merchant Thomas Dolman, the house later became associated with the Second Battle of Newbury, during which it stood at the centre of the fighting. Although long believed to have served as headquarters for King Charles I, recent research suggests he never actually visited the property. The house did, however, host other notable visitors, including Elizabeth I.
In the 1720s, Shaw House was acquired by James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos. While not his principal residence, the family spent time in the area, and the second Duke became known locally for marrying Anne Wells, a chambermaid from Newbury. Following the first Duke’s death in 1744, the dowager duchess resided at the house until 1750, after which it was sold to the Andrews family. It later became the childhood home of historian James Pettit Andrews and, for many years, also served as a school.
Why choose CPD essentials
✅ Local
✅ Cost effective
✅ Expert and informative speakers
✅ Personal and friendly service
💼 Price: £160 + VAT (includes refreshments, lunch, and a comprehensive online delegate pack)
🎯 CPD: 6 hours
Contact ">Alison with any questions
Speakers
Marianne Suhr
Marianne is a Chartered Building Surveyor and has specialised in conservation and traditional construction for 30 years. Always fascinated by historic buildings, her early career started as a Clerk of Works for The National Trust, followed by a travelling scholarship with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). She worked for seven years in architectural practice on high profile buildings such as Cardiff Castle, Kelmarsh Hall and the National Trust estate at Avebury.
In 2002 Marianne gave up her desk job to concentrate on ‘hands on’ building experience. Her first project was a derelict farmhouse in Leicestershire which she spent two years bringing back to life, learning a variety of practical skills on her journey. She has since repaired and adapted three other houses of her own; a cottage in Bristol, and more recently, two timber framed houses in Oxfordshire, gaining specialist knowledge along the way.
For over ten years Marianne worked with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, running around 100 courses and practical workshops around the country, teaching builders, homeowners and architects how to repair old buildings using traditional materials. She continues to teach on various aspects of repair and retrofit in conjunction with the SPAB and The National Trust.
In 2008, Marianne co-authored the ‘Old House Handbook’, designed as a practical resource and guide for homeowners on all aspects of traditional building repair. Updated in 2023, it continues to be the ‘go to’ book for anyone buying or owning an old house. A companion volume, the ‘Old House Eco Handbook’ furthers this mission and advises on energy efficiency and retrofitting.
Over many years of learning through ‘hands-on’ experience, Marianne has developed a practical approach to repair and retrofit She is dedicated to the philosophy of ‘repair’ rather than ‘replace’, retaining the integrity and authenticity of an old house. She is particularly interested in using lime mortars, lime plasters and traditional paints to give buildings both an authentic finish and to allow them to ‘breathe’.
Marianne enjoys the challenge of ‘reworking’ buildings with poor internal layouts, and using good design to problem solve and update tired interiors.
Kevin Stubbs BA (HonsArch). DipBldgCons (AA). IHBC. CertEd.
Kevin Stubbs is a Historic Buildings Consultant and comes with a background of education, archaeology and building conservation. In his early life he was director of an Archaeological field unit. For many years he was Principal Historic Buildings Conservation Officer for Hampshire County Council, later acted as the Director of a Museum & Building Conservation Centre and since 2007 has run his own Historic Building Consultancy. Since 1977 he has been an advisor to a very active local Buildings Preservation Trust. In 2022 he was invited to take up the post of Senior Courses leader for the York University validated MSc Building Conservation courses based at the Weald & Downland Living Museum. These courses are designed on a modular basis to cater for those mature students who are in full time professional employment & wish to gain an advanced qualification in building conservation
Henry Landis, Historic England
Fire safety advisor