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.

 

Please contact us to join in with our activities.  To do so, phone Trevor Oliver on : 07801 065291, or send him an email at : millstonerestoration58@gmail.com, or post a comment on this blog and ask us to contact you.

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