Over the past couple of months we have been supporting Historic England and The Churches Conservation Trust with the delivery of the Heritage Building Skills Summer School at St John the Evangelist Church in Lancaster.
Whilst the project has been delivering urgent repairs necessary to protect the historic fabric of the church, the focus of the summer school is to offer a lifetime opportunity for around twenty young apprentices who are a part of Historic England’s Heritage Building Skills Programme. The Heritage Building Skills Programme is a major five-year in-work training and apprenticeships programme in the North of England, running from 2021-2026. The programme aims to address concerns such as shortages in heritage craft skills, and create viable career opportunities for young people from less-advantaged backgrounds.
As part of the summer school, the participants learned from heritage construction experts at Bullen Conservation and contributed to restoration works by preparing the parapet for repointing, including removing old mortar from the joints between the stones and removing encrusted vegetation and areas of stone decay. They also measured stones that needed replacing as well as where stone inserts were required. Inside the church, they carried out repairs to the ceiling joists on the north side and made mock-ups of potential free-standing joinery interventions to the pews to ascertain the visual impact.
We worked with the participants to show how we play our role within the conservation of listed buildings and the delivery of new interventions with historic environments. This included engaging them with progress meetings, site inspections and defining of the scope of agreed works.
During the Summer School, attendees also took part in heritage craft workshops held at Lancaster & Morecambe College and delivered by specialist trainers. This enabled them to learn about and try plastering, joinery, hot lime mortar mixing, stonemasonry, mud-masonry, and slate roofing. Participants benefited from site visits to other local heritage construction sites, including Lancaster Castle, and Burlington Slate Quarry. They also completed qualifications in Repair and Maintenance and Energy Efficiency of Traditional (pre-1919) buildings.
Anyone interested in pursuing a career in the heritage sector, whether you are a young person looking to start a career or someone looking to switch lanes, as well as anyone interested in offering heritage apprenticeships and training can find more information on Historic England’s website: https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/training-skills/work-based-training/
Everyone at Mosedale Gillatt was proud to take part in this piece of work and to engage with the next generation of heritage skills craft persons.
Photographs 1, 3 copyright of Historic England, photograph 4, 5 copyright of the Churches Conservation Trust
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