SPAB

A real-life gingerbread house! This is The Crooked House in Lavenham. It is the surviving wing of a Medieval Hall House, built in 1395 for a wealthy wool merchant at a time when the wool trade was rapidly making Lavenham one of the richest places in England. Why is the house so crooked? In the rush to create a grand home, the merchant didn’t allow time for the wood to fully season before construction. As the timber frame dried, it warped and twisted, giving the house its distinctive lean and resulting in a strong but delightfully wonky house which is said to have inspired the old English nursery rhyme, ‘There was a Crooked Man’! Today it’s home to Alex and Oli who are working to secure its future. Discover more about the story of this intriguing landmark in our latest blog post, written by Alex here: https://lnkd.in/ec6SAZ2K 📷 Photo credit: James Davidson. #OldHouse #History #BeautifulHomes #HistoricHomes #GingerbreadHouse #Christmas #Lavenham

We're now closed for Christmas. Our services, including our Technical Advice Line, will be back on 2 January. Thank you to everyone who has worked with us this year to give old buildings a future. We hope you all have a wonderful festive break 🎄 Pictured is Kibworth Harcourt Post Mill adorned with fairy lights sponsored by our good friends and neighbours the Briggs who own the Windmill Farm Park where the mill resides. 📷 Photo Graham Watts

Announcing our new 2025 Scholars and Fellows! Every year, we select four craftspeople and four building professionals to join our unique training programmes. Congratulations to our new Fellows: - Ross Harris, carpenter and millwright - Tom Stevens, thatcher - Gerard Edwards, bricklayer - Viv Walker, carpenter And our new Scholars: - Charlie Porter, architect - Ashley Turner, architect - Katie Campbell, architectural assistant - Olivia Britt, structural engineer From next March to December, the groups will travel the country learning traditional craft techniques and developing their approach to building repair. Please join us in welcoming the team, and follow along for more updates! #architect #craftspeople #bricklayer #carpenter #stonemason #heritage #conservation

This cruck-framed bothy is located in the Scottish borders and has been restored using natural materials to make it suitable for modern living. James Bull, a heritage carpenter and 2024 Fellow, recently visited and shares a snapshot in his Day in the Life of a Fellow blog post. Read here: https://lnkd.in/e3ZcATqM

Our Guardians help us to do the best work we can for old buildings and the people who care for them. They are passionate and committed volunteers who offer their time and expertise. Following the recent Guardian elections, we’re pleased to announce the two candidates elected for the Technical and Research Committee are Nigel Copsey (stonemason, conservator and lime specialist, based in Yorkshire) and Hugh Conway-Morris (Scholar, architect and carpenter, based in Oxford/Gloucestershire). For the Education and Training Committee the elected candidate is Samantha Peacock (Fellow, stonemason and stained glass conservator, based in Somerset). Pictured in action here at the 2023 working party at Boxley Abbey. We're also delighted to welcome Andrew Bodenham and Paul Selwood to the Mills Committee, Tyler Lott-Johnson and Aida Dehpour to the Scotland Committee and Brian McMahon to the Ireland Committee. Thanks to all the members who voted for SPAB Guardians for 2025. You can find out more about what our Guardians do in this blog: https://lnkd.in/epm_JUZ3

Have you ever seen walls that look like this? In 17th century southern England, vertical tiling like this was used to shield timber-frame buildings from bad weather, particularly driving rain. You're most likely to spot vertical tiling in Kent and Sussex, although as tiles became more available in the 19th century its use spread across the country. Vertically hung tiles retain their original colour better than those on the roof (which often darken due to lichen, moss and soot particles) giving these houses a lovely gingerbread appearance. 📷 Alfriston, Sussex © Nickos #sussex #architecture #heritage #cottage #cottagecore

A little sunshine to start the week! Culross has to be one of the most picturesque villages in the UK. If you've ever been, you've probably admired its cobbled streets dotted with harled houses, with their distinctive red tile roofs and crow-stepped gables. Vernacular (or traditional) architecture like this is influenced by the traditions, materials and resources of a region. It gives places their own unique character and style. When it comes to vernacular architecture, where's your favourite place to visit and why? 📷 Culross Palace, Fife © Rachel Stoplar #Culross #Scotland #Outlander #Architecture #Heritage #OldBuildings

Water is both friend and foe at Fladbury Mill, which sits on the banks of the River Avon near Worcester. After the recent heavy rain, the site flooded but Mill House remained dry thanks to window and door guards protecting openings, and under-floor sump pumps. Our mill custodian shared these images of the site flooded last week and this week, with the water slowly receding. We acquired Fladbury in July 2024, as the generous bequest of David Wynn. With the effects of extreme weather now with us, the site offers the opportunity to study these effects and means of mitigation in ways that should help other building owners and managers. If you are worried about flooding or have been affected, you can call our technical helpline for advice. It's open 9.30am-12.30pm, Monday - Friday on 020 7456 0916. 📷 Drone footage by Michael Dunning.

It’s easy to take the beautiful old buildings that surround us for granted, but a look through the documents held in SPAB’s archive shows how the survival of many was often hard-won. Rotherham’s medieval bridge, one of only a handful with a bridge chapel, came close to being destroyed a hundred years ago. Discover the story in our new article below...

This #WindowWednesday, we're admiring these two bowed oriel windows, each with its own lead roof. Oriel comes from the old French for 'gallery', and refers to bay windows that jut out from the wall but don't reach down to the ground. Where have you seen oriel windows? 📷 Angel Hotel, Ludlow © Rachel Stoplar