Supporting SPAB in training conservation specialists for the future
Three dedicated SPAB scholars spent the morning with us last Wednesday. Jo, Harry and Boris are about six months into their nine month course. Since its inception in the 1930’s the SPAB scholarship has been based on a strong belief that practical application is the best way to learn the skills of conservation. The group spent a while getting to grips with some of the principles of traditional framing techniques; from good timber selection, the importance of shrinkage in green timber, and how to approach the design of efficient oak framed buildings.
We followed this with a practical demonstration of scribe framing, the method we use for making traditional oak frames. This technique allows us to incorporate the natural shape of the timber into the frame and gives it more character than would be achieved from an entirely machine made product. It took the scholars some time to get their head around the process but once they did they really appreciated the skill of our framers.
After this we looked specifically at conservation techniques from identifying the appropriate conservation strategy for a period oak framed building through to the individual types of repairs we adopt.
We hope that the scholars found the morning interesting and helpful in their studies. Boris kindly commented “I personally think one of the best presentations I have seen on the scholarship because it was concise, the examples were well illustrated and it was a fantastic introduction to more than just timber framing – On behalf of Harry, Jo and myself, thanks again.”
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For more information about this news story, please contact:
E-mail: Laura Martin
