Thar she blows!

[Gervase]

For them as is interested, great fun was had by all at the Building Limes Forum conference in Cardiff at the weekend, particularly on the Saturday when a replica of a 13th Century lime kiln built by the BLF's Welsh members over the past 6 weeks was fired up.
Standing some 2.5 metres high and built from around 40 tonnes of local stone, the kiln was based on one found at Cilgerran Castle near Cardigan, and built in the grounds of the Museum of Welsh national History at St Fagan's by a team led by Stafford Holmes.
And it worked a treat; cranking out limes from chalk, Welsh Carboniferous limestone and blue lias.
Here's the general view of the kiln:

with fire lit;
Here's a close-up of one of the two tapered arches leading to the bottom pit:

Here's Stafford himself getting read to damp down the fire with clag plugs;

And here's the slaking going on - mightily impressive, too, with the tub being brought to a raging boil and producing some very fine putty;

What's nice is that St Fagan's intend to keep the kiln in use, and to use the lime it produces to restore the latest project, a farmhouse brought to the site from Haverfordwest.

 

[Nemesis]

Here's our local one - they didn't change much did they?


[Open Image] [Hosted by PhotoGalaxy.com]

 

[elm]

So, a 'whole lotta of slaking goin' on' then ...... ok, I know where my coat is.

 

[biffvernon]

Sounds a brilliant weekend , Gervase. Wish I'd gone.

There's a SPAB organised trip round the Singleton Birch limeworks North Lincolnshire, on Saturday 7th October.

 

[plumbers mate]

Ah, Crindledykes - blooming cold, horizontal sleet blowing across but we still got it surveyed!

They fired a restored kiln over near Maryport about 25 years back so they could make lime for the limewash on houses in the Lakes (IIRC)

Great fun and well worth while.

 

[Nemesis]

'What's nice is that St Fagan's intend to keep the kiln in use, and to use the lime it produces to restore the latest project, a farmhouse brought to the site from Haverfordwest.'

Actually that's sad. Why the removal from its rightful place historically?

 

[Gervase]

To defend St Fagan's and Gerallt Nash, the senior curator who runs it, most of the buildings that have been relocated there would otherwise not be standing.
For example, St Teilo's church, which is in the process of being restored, had been stripped of its roof, the timbers were going, the walls were collapsing because of mining subsidence and surveyors gave it very little time before it collapsed completely.
In the process of taking it apart stone by stone to a depth of five feet below ground level), the conservators have discovered and recovered 15th century wall paintings under the limewash and 14th century window tracery under the floor to mention just two 'finds'.
Once the reassembly is complete the church will probably be the only chance we have to see what the interior of a pre-Reformation church looked like, with its brilliant polychrome painting.

You can get a flavour of the work in progress from the picture. In the church as recovered, none of the woodwork survived, and the latest record of it was photographs from half a century back. And, I have to say, the craftsmanship is superb.
As for the house in Havorfordwest, it was in a similar state and is currently numbered 'in store' at St Fagan's. It didn't even have a roof when it was brought in, and was also in danger of collapse.
Gerallt and the other curators are acutely aware that what has been created since 1947 is a sort of 'zoo' for buildings, but they - and, for what it's worth, me - believe that to preserve vernacular buildings in such a form when they would be 'dead' in the wild is worthwhile.

 

[plumbers mate]

The eye of that kiln arch looks a bit large, they are usually less than the full width of the back of the arch.
Strange - I've only ever known two people with the first name of Stafford - and both are industrial archaeologists.

Moving buildings is sometimes the only way to keep them - but it can be done for no real reason - a lot of Beamish under Frank Atkinson was like that eg the Cementation furnace at Derwentcote in County Durham was to have ben moved but has now been excavated and restored in situ and in its original context.
But other buildings were going to be demolished anyway and so have been saved - sort of.

 

[Penners]

Gervase - I've never been to St Fagans. Just to be absolutely clear, are you saying that the reconstructed St Teilo's church is there? If so, I must put it on my list of places to visit. The photo is stunning!

 

[Gervase]

St Teilo's is there, but I don't think it's opening to the public until next year. I think the idea is to get the Bish or some such high-ranking sky-pilot to come along and reconsecrate it on St Teilo's Day or summat.
But St Fagan's is worth a look even before the church is finished - it really is a stunning collection of vernacular buildings presented as their builders intended them, from simple long-houses to a lovely Edwardian working men's institute.
Well worth crossing the border for!

 

[Penners]

I shall definitely do that, once I've saved up enough money to allowed back out of Wales.

Do you know Avoncroft Museum in Worcestershire? It doesn't perhaps carry the credentials of a museum of national history like St Fagans, but it has a very interesting collection of old buildings, including a genuine pre-fab.

http://www.avoncroft.org.uk/

 

[Moo]

enough money to allowed back out of Wales.

? ? ? Please translate, Penners.

 

[Gervase]

I shall definitely do that, once I've saved up enough money to allowed back out of Wales.

We only fleece you sais once - on the way in. Once we've emptied your pockets on the way in, you're free to go. Now be off with you!

 

[Mark]

enough money to allowed back out of Wales.

? ? ? Please translate, Penners.

they do it twice on the way in.

1: toll on the bridge (is that the m4 )
2: speed camera on the toll plaza.

dont know if theres a camera on the way out - I go M50 usually

 

[Penners]

I shall definitely do that, once I've saved up enough money to allowed back out of Wales.

We only fleece you sais once - on the way in. Once we've emptied your pockets on the way in, you're free to go. Now be off with you!

Got it wrong - damn! It's many years since I've ventured into the valleys, and I could have sworn the charge was on the way out.

Moo - we're talking about the Severn Bridge toll. It only operates one way. The other way is free.

 

[Moo]

It all sounds rather sinister. I think I'll stay in England.

 

[Penners]

Better still, how about charging folk a toll to come into Norfolk? (Especially those flippin' London weekenders).

 

[Moo]

Now that's a really good idea. Keep 'em all out, I say.