We were shocked and saddened to hear of the loss of Hugh Feilden, who died suddenly and unexpectedly on 24th August. He was a champion of conservation, and was always willing to share his wide knowledge and experience with us, and lend us his support. We remember his talks on Old Sarum Airfield and on the complex problems at Norwich Castle, and his nomination of Jacques Heyman’s The Stone Skeleton in our Influential Books Forum. We shall miss him deeply.

We hope to publish a fuller appreciation with contributions from ASCHB members in the future.

Following our highly successful conference on Industrial Heritage, the Association for Studies in the Conservation of Historic Buildings (ASCHB) are delighted to announce that Paul Beckett and Gez Pegram have come forward to be our new Joint Northern Convenors, based in Sheffield and York.

They are proposing to hold local meetings and events, including a visit on 19 June 2020 to see the sites at Wentworth Woodhouse and Elsecar. 

To register your interest in our Northern group, please use the Contacts link on our website www.aschb.org.uk/ and use the ‘ASCHB-North’ subject on the drop down menu.

Historic England  is working with the UCL’s Bartlett School Environment, Energy & Resources and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to offer a fully-funded PhD on a truly innovative topic in energy and the built environment: understanding and, more importantly, assessing the real sources of thermal discomfort and comfort (trying to break us away from the late 20th century  paradigm that comfort comes from space heating and cooling, which is not only a serious source of energy and carbon use, but demands such risky retrofitting to manage).

Applications close on the 22 JULY, and all details can be found here: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BTO226/fully-funded-phd-studentship-reducing-energy-consumption-and-addressing-thermal-discomfort-in-historic-buildings

We are sad to hear of the closure of R J Durtnell & Sons, the oldest building firm in England. Founded in the 16th century, it started with timber-framed buildings and expanded to become a general building firm in the 1800s. It was the contractor for the Turner Contemporary in Margate in 2008. The firm undertook refurbishment projects as well as new build, and was working on the Royal Pavilion Estate including the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange when it ceased trading. We hope that the skills and knowledge amassed in over 425 years will not be lost.

A report of our conference is now on our Conference page.