Natural England - People got 'plastered' at vanished village event
People got 'plastered' at vanished village event
19 July 2010
A recent event in Teesdale that gave members of the public an opportunity to see restoration experts at work on three buildings that are the last traces of a ‘lost’ village proved to be a hit with local people.
Last week (Thursday 15th July), Natural England teamed up with the North of England Civic Trust’s Heritage Skills Initiative to give members of the public a chance to see the work on a chapel, bridge and dovecote, which are the last surviving structures of the once-bustling village of Barforth, near Gainford in Co Durham.
The day proved very popular and was fully booked, with 21 people signing up to meet the architect and builders who are working on the project. People who attended also had a chance to try their hand at a spot of ‘harling’ - the messy job of applying the traditional lime plaster used to weatherproof Barforth’s historic dovecote.
The event provided an opportunity to see how materials such as lime, and techniques such as lime rendering (‘harling’) are still used today to protect historic structures. As well as a chance to hear at first hand from the contractors and architect who are working on the site, there was a walk around the vanished village with Natural England’s Historic Environment Advisor, Tom Gledhill, to see the work carried out to consolidate the bridge, historic dovecote and St Lawrence’s Chapel, which dates from the 12th century.
Natural England has provided funding to the landowner for consolidation work to be carried out that will protect the structures for the future. The event was organised to give people a better understanding of the techniques used to conserve historical buildings which can then be used in their own businesses or domestic projects.
Kathryn Banfield, Heritage Skills Assistant at North of England Civic Trust said: “The Heritage Skills Initiative has really enjoyed working with this project at Barforth; an amazing site which is being consolidated by skillful and passionate people. It was great to see so many different people coming along to the event and engaging with traditional skills. People who came along included architects and tradesmen as well as members of the public working on their own restoration projects.”
Tom Gledhill, Natural England’s Historic Environment Advisor for the North East, said: “The surviving buildings at Barforth provide a rare insight into the life of a medieval Durham farming community and Natural England is delighted to be helping to protect these buildings for the future. This event was a great opportunity for people interested in learning about traditional conservation techniques to meet historic building restoration experts and see them at work.”
Natural England is working with specialist historic building conservation experts Countryside Consultants of Alston to help safeguard the structures at Barforth. Traditional conservation techniques, such as the use of lime mortar, are being used throughout the project by father-and-son builders, Mike and Gary Simpson of Heritage Consolidation Ltd, who specialize in the conservation of historic buildings. The work at Barforth will see the buildings removed from the Heritage at Risk Register - English Heritage’s list of historic buildings that are at risk of deterioration.
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