The first Wisbech High Street Project Conservation Workshop

FDC Conservation Officer Katie McAndrew
Mike Forrest
Union Place
Taleyna Fletcher
Aldos Fireplace, Castle Lodge
Taleyna Fletcher
Dr David Watt talking at a Conservation Workshop
Mike Forrest
Love it or Lose It Cover Page
Matt Emmett
Aldos Ceiling
Taleyna Fletcher

On Saturday 25th August 2018 we held our first Conservation Workshop.

We had almost 40 participants who had signed up in advance – many of who were owners of listed buildings or older properties in Wisbech and surrounding area looking for advice on repair and maintenance.

Our first talk was by Fenland District Councils Conservation Officer, Katie McAndrew who talked about how buildings are listed and why. She then went on to talk about how to undertake inspections of buildings and what signs to look out for which may indicate a problem.

Our second speaker after lunch was Dr David Watt of Hutton+Rostron  David gave two fascinating talks, the first on Dampness in historic buildings – how moisture occurs, how to recognise the signs, how to monitor and test, diagnose and get advice to treat it. The second talk was on Timber and timber decay. In this second talk we learnt about the use of timber in construction, identifying  problems caused by fungi, beetles and human error as well as how to diagnose problems and the appropriate action to take.

We then arranged for the group to visit two Grade II listed properties nearby to look at some of the issues discussed in the mornings talks. This was a fantastic opportunity to look at a Castle Lodge – a property in the middle of a conversion project and we were given permission by the owner to look around a property on Union Place which is about to start a programme of renovation. This gave participants the opportunity to learn and ask questions about the approaches to dealing with repair and maintenance issues when working with historic buildings.

We were also delighted to launch our new Conservation Guidance Booklet “Love it or Lose It” which attendees could take home. The booklet will be available to download soon.

Thanks to Octavia View for providing a wonderful location for the talks and to the owners of the two properties we visited, including Aldo Ierubino from the Wisbech Society, who allowed us to show people around their homes. And finally to my mum for serving the teas, coffees and biscuits!

Keep an eye on the website for future workshops.

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