2015 Conference

Clare College, Cambridge, 18-20 September 2015

The 2015 Conference and Gathering of the Building Limes Forum was held in Cambridge from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September.  The venue was the historic Clare College and the general theme was Lime in East Anglia.

East Anglia has a long tradition of lime, covering its diverse range of historic building construction. This includes timber-framed (infilled with wattle and daub, lath and plaster or brick) and those built in flint and rubble, with the use of lime as the binder and limewash as a protective finish. Grander stone built houses, ecclesiastical buildings and universities will also be discussed.

 Click for the Cambridge Programme

There were lecture sessions covering the topic of Lime in East Anglia, and others on the latest research and developments in lime, case studies and presentations from members.

The Baker Memorial Lecture was given by Dr David Watt on the Saturday evening. Dr Watt was born and grew up in Norfolk, was formerly editor of The Journal of Architectural Conservation, lecturer at De Montfort University at Leicester, and is now associate director with Hutton and RostronEnvironmental Investigations Ltd. His lecture covered his career involvement with ancient monuments, standing ruins and other historic sites and buildings.

There were excursions to Ely on the Friday and Audley End and Saffron Walden on the Saturday to see the wealth of lime in this part of England. The conference ended with a guided walk of Cambridge itself led by a former Conservation Officer.  All this, included meals, a reception and the social element of the annual gathering added up to an unmissable three days.

 

The BLF is very grateful to IHBC, Secil, AKS Ward, Purcell, Rodney Melville & Partners, Aecom and Stonewest for their support of dinners and evening receptions. The BLF is especially grateful to the Ernest Cook Trust for its support of bursaries. The BLF Conference is recognised by the Institute for Historic Building Conservation for CPD.