EBUK Project of the Month!
Andover – the largest earth building in the UK?
In Andover there is an 1850 chalk cob building which contains a massive 681 cubic metres of chalk weighing 1500 tons.
The chalk came from the cuttings dug for the railway when it reached Andover (c.1850), and the building is shown on the 1850 tithe map.
The walls are 850mm thick and it has internal buttresses supporting the ends of the trusses, thereby reducing the span, which he thinks are a ‘novel’ feature which he has never seen before.
Perhaps this is a ‘large’ earth building to rival some of those iconic earth structures in the rest of the world, such as the Grand Mosque in Djenne (Mali), tower houses of Wadi Hadramawt (Yemen) and Great Kyz Kala at Merv (Turkmenistan).
If you are an EBUK member please join in the members area to share your ideas and thoughts.
More information:
Earth structures – a strategy for sustainable development in Hampshire.
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/earth_structures.pdf
or read more:
Pearson, G. 1992. Conservation of Clay and Chalk Buildings. Donhead Publishing.
————————————————————————————-February 2012: The Old Schoolhouse, Cottown.
Cottown (Image: Sian Loftus, National Trust for Scotland)
The National Trust for Scotland, through its Little Houses Improvement Scheme (LHIS), is developing options for the repair and adaptation of a ‘Category A’ listed mudwall building approximately 6 miles east of Perth. The Old Schoolhouse, Cottown, dates from the mid-eighteenth century and sits on a site of 0.275HA. The site includes the ruins of two former cottages, some post-war outbuildings and a small historic orchard.
The project proposes adaptation of this historic building to a comfortable one bedroom dwelling, with the potential for 2 further dwellings on the site of ruinous buildings. It aims at safeguarding a building of national importance, while creating a new community which will serve as an exemplar in sustainable design (drawing on the sustainability of the schoolhouse’s earth construction as inspiration in a low carbon future). On a similar project in Angus the Trust repaired and adapted Logie Schoolhouse, also of mudwall construction, into a one bedroom dwelling of great character and quality. Find out more: http://www.nts.org.uk/conserve/buildings_current.php
Key to the success of many LHIS projects are partnerships with housing providers, community organisations or private purchasers. We are inviting interest in the Cottown project from social landlords, community and co-housing groups or individuals who share our commitment to regeneration and sustainable design. The project is in early development stage and subject to securing grant funding we aim to be on site in early 2014, completing summer 2015.
For further information please contact: Ms Siân Loftus, LHIS Manager, The National Trust for Scotland, The Stables, Castle Fraser, Sauchen, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire AB51 7LD. Email sloftus@nts.org.uk or Tel 0844 493 1683.
for a news article about how floods threatened the building:
Find out more projects from EBUK members in ‘new build’ and ‘conservation’ projects.
