Absolutely SPABulous!
The visit of SPAB, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, to the East Church last week caused some interesting debates amongst experts in the field of building conservation.
The East Church project team was on hand to show them the work that has been done at the church, and to discuss the techniques used.
The group gathered at roof height to debate the relative merits of differents methods of slate fixing - to single or double hole, to bed on mortar or not - and to consider whether a mortar or lead edging at the skews was better.
This could all begin to sound a bit esoteric, but such debate 
on detail is the way in which thin
king on building conservation can evolve, and the prime contestants, all experts in their own right, are people who give a great deal of thought to the subject - and all more than capable of holding their own!
Inside, project worker Andrew Newcombe, and highly skilled plasterer Andrew Doyle described the painstaking work to repair the old plasterwork. All were impressed by the quality of workmanship.
SPAB offer both fellowships and scholarships to building professionals and traditional building craft workers, and also have a range of courses and information available to homeowners. Their website is well worth a visit to find out more.
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Support the work of the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust in looking after historic buildings like the East Church. more »“We’re extremely fortunate to have Laing Traditional Masonry Ltd as the main contractors. They have a superb reputation, not only for the quality of their work, but also for their commitment to training apprentices – the next generation of skilled stonemasons and craftworkers ”
Victoria Collison-Owen, SRCT Director