NEWSLETTER

Mr John Park, the Lord Dean of Guild of Glasgow, gave a fascinating talk about the history of the Merchants House. The second speaker of the evening, architect and author Fiona Sinclair, spoke about her personal experiences of conservation and restoration of stone built properties in Glasgow. Following the lectures those in attendance had the opportunity to admire a number of the rooms in this historic property.

The evening was thoroughly enjoyable, building on the success of last year’s event. The NSI would like to thank those stone companies who generously supported the event: Fyfe Glenrock, Hunter & Clark Ltd, Hutton Stone Co Ltd, Kirk Natural Stone, Stancliffe Stone Company Ltd, Tradstocks and Watson Stonecraft.

NSI AGM

The NSI held its 4th AGM on Thursday 15th September 2005 at the Royal Overseas League, Princes Street, Edinburgh.

At the meeting Mr Alan McKinney stepped down as Secretary & Treasurer of the NSI. I’m sure everyone will join me in thanking Alan for all his work on behalf of the organisation. I have taken on the position of Secretary/Treasurer and look forward to keeping in touch with NSI members through the role.

In addition to the formal meeting there was a talk by Dennis Urquhart and Dr Ewan Hyslop of BGS, about the SSLG Glasgow Project. The NSI would like to thank the speakers for a very interesting and informative talk, which drew an audience of NSI members and non-members.

CBE Seminar – Building with Scottish Stone

On 17th November the NSI provided a seminar on Building with Scottish Stone as part of the Centre for the Built Environment lunchtime seminar series.

Peter Wilson, architect and director of the Manifesto Architecture Research Centre at Edinburgh's Napier University, spoke about how a sound knowledge of the properties of natural stone permits adventurous contemporary design, with architects throughout Europe discovering many new opportunities afforded by this richly varied material. The event was a great success, with many of the delegates staying to continue their discussions at the end of the seminar. The NSI was happy to be part of this event and looks forward to further collaborations with the CBE.

The NSI was present at the Scottish Stone Show held at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, on the 29th/30th November.

The NSI provided 2 talks for the event’s seminar programme. Peter Wilson talked on Using Stone in Contemporary Architecture, while Joan Walsh, of the Historic Masonry Team at the University of Paisley and Convener of the NSI, spoke about Whole Life Cycle Cost of Roofing Slates. The Historic Masonry Group at the University of Paisley has developed novel methods of predicting the relative life expectancy of a range of different slates, supported where possible by the actual performance on a roof. This is essential data enables the calculation of the whole life cycles costs of different slates.

Following on from these successful events the NSI will be exhibiting in the Conservation Area at the 7th Natural Stone Show on 14th-16th March. With this and other projects, the NSI looks set to continue its success into 2006.

Sarah Bailey
Education & Development Officer, NSI

How Hydraulic Lime Binders Work

Hydraulicity for beginners and the hydraulic lime family

Hydraulic limes are binders with the ability to undergo a chemical set in the presence of water. They are usually combined with fillers such as sand, and processed into mortar. We use this in a myriad of construction processes including wall construction, repair/repointing, wall coatings, grouts and lime washes.

Produced by Dr Alan Forster and the Scottish Lime Centre Trust, this short publication sets out to make the subject of hydraulicity in lime mortars more accessible for practical people. Processes and descriptions have been simplified to try and identify and explain the main mechanisms and set characteristics of hydraulic lime mortars.

Copies of How Hydraulic Lime Binders Work are available from:
Scottish Lime Centre Trust
Rocks Road, Charlestown
Fife, KY11 3EN
T: 01383 872 722
slct@scotlime.org

Details of courses currently available at the Lime Centre are available online at http://www.scotlime.org

Stone in Wales

Papers from the Stone in Wales conference 2002 have been compiled into the first title published by Cadw in what is hoped will become a library of built heritage conservation in Wales.

The publication entitled Stone in Wales: Materials, Heritage and Conservation carries both the English and Welsh versions. The book is divided into 3 topics covered at the conference in 2002: materials, heritage and conservation. It provides a mix of overview and case study and gives an insight into the production and use of stone in Wales, indigenous and imported, for all kinds of buildings, from abbeys to dry stone walls.

Stone in Wales (ISBN 1 85760 221 8) is available for £45 including p&p from Cadw, Unit 5/7 Cefn Coed, Parc Nantgarw, Cardiff, CF15 7QQ. http://www.cadw.cymru.gov.uk

The West End Conservation Manual

The Glasgow Conservation Trust - West is pleased to announce the release of the revised CD-ROM version of The West End Conservation Manual.

Designed for a wide audience, The West End Conservation Manual has proved to be as popular with specialist building professionals as it is with owners of historic buildings having no technical knowledge of conservation. It is divided into thirteen sections, each of which is fully illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Although concentrating on the West End of Glasgow, the conservation principles and practices described in the Manual apply to many older towns and cities in central Scotland, and elsewhere in the country.

The new Manual CD-ROM is now available for £50.00. Postage within the EU or surface mail worldwide is included (air mail worldwide is extra). All orders must be paid by cheque or money order in pounds sterling. Copies can be ordered online at http://www.glasgowwest.org

Natural Stone Database Project

In Northern Ireland the lack of authoritative data on the performance of natural stone used on historic buildings means that there is no reliable data on which to base decisions for repair specifications. To tackle this problem the Industry-Research partnership of Consarc Design Group and Queen’s University Belfast have been awarded funding by Environment and Heritage Service (Building Sustainable Prosperity Programme) to set up the Natural Stone Database.

The aim of the project is to put in place measures to address the severe and ongoing damage to the stone-built heritage caused by weathering, pollution and inappropriate repair. The project will:

• Identify heritage needs through a comprehensive surveying programme of listed stone buildings and monuments;
• Define the characteristics of building stone used in Northern Ireland (local and imported) through analysis and testing;
• Identify available stone resources.

This information will be produced as a web-based database that will be freely accessible to all building owners, architects and conservation professionals. For more information contact:
Dr Joanne Curran (Project Manager)
T: 028 9082 8400
Joanne.curran@consarc-design.co.uk

Details of Memorial Grants Scheme

Details of the new scheme for UK charities and faith groups, which will refund the VAT costs incurred in the construction, renovation and maintenance of memorials are now available on the DCMS website at http://www.memorialgrant.org.uk

Words constantly enter and leave our vocabulary. Some, like ‘tsunami’, enter our daily language with a thump. Others, like ‘bicker’ (a stone-throwing fight), disappear with a mere whimper or change their meaning to suit modern times.

Many words associated with stones and stonework were found in common usage even up to the middle of the 20th Century but fell into obscurity because building methods and systems changed to suit more demanding timescales and modern materials. In the 18th century there were many words associated with turf and building with turf. When buildings became more sophisticated these words vanished from everyday use.

Local dialects still have lots of ancient words, many seldom appear in written form. There are a couple of dozen words in Scots describing ‘mud’ or ’muddy’. These were important when the bulk of the population worked on the land or had some connection with the outdoors.

Dyking (I shall use this Scottish term for drystone walling) is full of regional terms. The top stones of a drystone dyke are called ‘copestones’ but in various parts of Britain and North America they are also called – ‘cope’, ‘copings’, ‘cams’, ‘caps’, ‘comb’, ‘toppings’, ‘toppers’, ‘copers’. They may be laid in a style that could be ‘buck and doe’, ‘buck and hen’, ‘hit and miss’, ‘duck and drake’.

A ‘lunky’ is an opening through a drystone wall under an arch or lintel. There are many synonyms for this word. Some are mere variations in spelling some would have had specific meanings, to differentiate between passages for sheep or water or smaller animals such as rabbits or to allow for tree roots. Nowadays the generic term ‘lunky’ is often applied to any opening. Agricultural and husbandry methods have changed so much that there is no need for a dozen words to describe what we now see as the same thing. There were once a multitude of names for drystone enclosures for sheep, cattle and other livestock. Once again the words have been reduced to a handful, modern times do not need to differentiate between a temporary enclosure for summer use or one used in ensure the landlord’s ground was properly manured. Many old words are very descriptive. ‘Sheep-siller’ is a charming term for ‘mica’ when you consider how it is found in its natural state.

Old words are disappearing but new ones are being introduced, though slowly. One New England writer has introduced the term ‘granite kiss’ to poetically describe the pain of the pinch when a finger is nipped between two stones.

Stone is being rediscovered as a building material, for new work and renovations. It is reasonable to attempt to salvage as much as possible of the language of stone, for the historic record and so that we may be able to read and understand the original accounts describing how stone was quarried and prepared for use in construction.

Over the last 18 months, with the help of the Drystone Walling Association, I have been compiling a list of words and terms associated with stone, the production of stone and its use in basic structures.

Geological dictionaries and textbooks cover the origins of rocks and their chemistry. Architectural dictionaries cover the structural aspects of built stone, describing buttresses, arches, pillars and the finer points of masonry. My ambition is to create one resource which covers the quarrying of stone, the tools and methods used to shape and process it, and the production of basic stone structures, whether it be a ‘cassie’, a ‘cleit’ or a ‘cashel’ (a cobblestone, a drystone shelter or a drystone fort).

Regional and dialect differences add to the richness of language. The only way to make up a dictionary is to find where and how the words are used and record them. In Scots and English the word ‘stone’ variously appears as stane, stein, steen, stien, stan ston. A quick glance shows that some of the words are almost the same, but there are differences in spelling and pronunciation. Imagine the confusion when a Yorkshire farmer gives a word to an Aberdeenshire student. Even slight differences in understanding of the accent or the topic under discussion could lead to differences in spelling or definition.

I take this opportunity to ask all readers to submit any words they are familiar with which in any way relate to stone. Please give as clear a definition as possible and confirm the source. Even if you think the word is commonplace it is still useful to have them because this acts as a cross reference to confirm its validity and source. Contributors will all be recognised in the eventual publication. All contributions should be marked ‘Stone Dictionary’ and sent to me, Nick Aitken, at the address below.

I am often asked why a non-smoker lives in a house named after a cigarette. ‘Woodbine’ is the old name for honeysuckle, another example of how a word can change meaning over the years.

Nick Aitken
‘Woodbine’, 127 High Street, Kingussie,
Inverness-shire PH21 1JD
stonedyker@talk21.com
Tel: 01540 661049

The 7th Natural Stone Show returns to ExCeL from 14-16 March 2006.

Taking place every two years in London, the best-supported event in the UK stone industry is dedicated to bringing together everyone involved in the production, design, specification and purchasing chain. In 2006 visitors will be able to select stone from a choice of more exhibitors than ever before and enjoy a range of exciting visitor features including:

• The new Demonstrations area
• The best of British stone in the Stone Federation Village
• Free specialist advice on conservation and restoration in the Conservation area
• Free entrance to the acclaimed Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference

The inaugural Natural Stone & Building Conservation Conference proved to be an unprecedented success in 2004 with a total of 633 delegates attending.

The 2006 Conference will maintain its broad focus on New Build and Conservation with the objective of bringing together under one roof all of those who have an interest in the design and use of stone as a building material.

Themed around all aspects of working with stone in the construction sector the programme will be broadly-based and cater for architects, specifiers, interior designers, surveyors, conservationists and other professionals with the objective of improving general awareness of both design and technical issues.

It is now possible to register online for your free entrance badge to the 7th Natural Stone Show: http://www.stoneshow.co.uk. The NSI will be exhibiting in the Conservation Area and we look forward to seeing many of our members at the event.

Materials Congress 2006

5-7th April, Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, Carlton House Terrace, London

This will be the fifth in a series of major materials conferences organised by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. Congress 2006 will cover the complete materials cycle, from minerals exploration and extraction, through processing, product manufacture and applications, to product recycling and land reuse.

The Congress programme will combine technical symposia of oral presentations with keynote speakers and six major plenary lectures held over three days, with poster sessions and a full supporting programme of public lectures, exhibitions, special events and social meetings.

For further information contact Lisa Bromley,
Tel: 020 7451 7302
http://www.iom3.org/congress

NSI excursions 2006

Following last year’s successful programme we are keen to hear ideas for excursions in 2006, particularly outside Scotland. If you have any suggestions, please contact Sarah Bailey at the address below. Details of forthcoming trips will be posted on the NSI website http://www.nsiuk.org and publicised via the NSI newsletter.

NSI President’s Medal Award 2006

The NSI is a broadly based organisation for the encouragement of knowledge and innovation in the use of natural stone. To assist in these objectives we are establishing a significant award for intellectual and practical work in the field.

The President’s Medal will be an annual international award in recognition of distinguished work in the fields of publication; research & technical development; construction; sustainable development; conservation or design relating to or using natural stone. The award is not confined to members of the NSI and entries and nominations will be sought from the UK and oversees for outstanding contributions to learning from those in research, practise and industry.

Entry to the competition will be possible through submission or nomination. Entry forms and rules for the award will be available shortly – check the NSI website and watch press for details.