EMESS

This meeting took place on 11 June 2025 at 7pm, again in the foyer of the University of Lincoln's Architecture Department.  It was a small group of Trevor Oliver, Neil Cook, Robin Brittain and your reporter, David Glew.   HERITAGE OPEN DAYS   The national Heritage Open Days in September were discussed, which this year would have the theme of“Architecture”.  For a number of years EMESS had joined this event by putting on a display at the mud-and-stud barn at Tumby Moorside.  This year would have been another good opportunity to meet the public, but it had to be missed through not having enough members, and not enough time to arrange anything.  Buildings of earth would not have been considered as architecture with a capital “A” in the past, but attitudes towards vernacular architecture have now included these types of buildings, even if they are at the bottom of the scale !   ARCHIVES   There had been a discussion at the last meeting...

This took place at 7pm on 21 February 2025, in the foyer of the Architecture Department.  It was prompted by Jenne Pape's talk to the Lincolnshire Family History Society on 19 October the year before, but we couldn't all get together until February this year.  We found the entrance hall of the Architecture Department quite convivial !  Those there were : Trevor Oliver (chair), Neil Cook (treasurer), Marcin Kolakowski (host), Robin Brittain (EBUKI), Jenne Pape and David Glew (your correspondent).   Jenne reported that a colleague, John Hart, is wanting to expand the recorded history of mud-and-stud buildings.  She also said the County Council would like to bring up-to-date their record of mud-and-stud buildings within the county.  The original record is now 25 years old after being published in the book by Rodney Cousins entitled “ Lincolnshire Buildings in the Mud-and-Stud Tradition ” .  Jenne also said she might have time to help sort out Rodney's...

For a period since 2018 the East Midlands Earth Structures Society (EMESS) has been quiet.  There have not been any formal meetings, but there have been informal workshops here and there.  The members have also been working on their own projects throughout the County.  The main one of these for the near future was obtaining planning permission for the construction of glamping pods to be built using a variety of earth-building techniques.  In other words, not just the local mud-and-stud method, but rammed earth, light clay, clay blocks, etc.  Also, they would be new-builds and not just the repair of existing cottages or barns ! Elsewhere, repairs have continued to be carried out on some of the 400 earth buildings in the county, mostly in the area of East Lindsey.  The Withern Cottage at The Village Museum in Skegness has not been neglected, having been lime-washed.  Research work with the University of Lincoln Architecture Department has continued....