MEETING No 1 - THE UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN
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 archives. These
documents are between Trevor's house and the Skegness Museum at the
moment. It was hoped that the
Lincolnshire Records Office might be interested in helping with the sorting of
the archives.
Marcin hoped the Architecture Department, through the
students, might be able to investigate technical matters relating to
mud-and-stud construction. Much has been
done abroad so there are some established guides to follow when building
generally with earth. The fact this is the commonest building material
throughout the “Earth” does not mean that the
construction of all those buildings is regulated to the standards expected in
the UK ! Marcin pointed out that Poland
in the 1920s established a modern version of building with earth which is
similar to mud-and-stud. In principle, a
dense external layer can be structural and weather-proof, while an internal
light-weight layer can provide thermal insulation and a finish. Making that principle work is the tricky part
!
Trevor has been doing the most work in recent years, from
repairing mud-and-stud cottages to starting the glamping pods on his own
land. He hopes to continue building
there by running training workshops demonstrating the different building
techniques. There will be a welfare
building (showers, WCs and washing-up, like those in such buildings on
camp-sites) as well as the five different pods.
They have all been laid out on the site and the foundations started.
Separately, Trevor is setting up a heritage skills training
centre in the former church in the village of Mumby. After it was made redundant, it was converted
into a community centre, and so already has WCs, a kitchen, and lots of
space. Over the years, Trevor has much
experience of working with the Construction Industry Training Board to
demonstrate to school-children the different trades which can be followed in
the building industry.
May we finish this report by saying how sorry we are to have
lost friends in recent years who helped to set up EMESS and contribute to it,
namely John Hurd and Rodney Cousins (founding members) and Rev Dick Westland
(who donated the original cottage which has been rebuilt at Elsham Hall in the
north of the county.
The next meeting could not be held until 11 June.
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