A 'giant leap forward' - reflections of a SPAB Fellows

The SPAB Fellowship program just ended, and I am writing to give you a general report on the year overall.  

The Fellowship is a training program run by the Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings, for craftspeople involved in historic buildings repairs. The aim is to deepen and widen heritage skills and develop people's understanding of the philosophy of repairs. Fellows learn through site visits guided by experienced conservation professionals. 

The Fellowship is set in three blocks, each about eight weeks, spread over the year. In 2024 we were a group of four craftspeople: two carpenters, a bricklayer and me, stonemason. 

During the first two blocks, the four of us travelled together across the UK to discuss conservation with a great number of people. We met with craftspeople, architects, engineers, surveyors, material analysts, and many other professionals. We also travelled with the four Scholars, who were all architects. 

Although, there is no exam as such at the end of the Fellowship, we have some responsibilities like writing articles for the magazine/blog as well as doing presentations for the Education & Training Committee. Every year SPAB organises a voice and presentation workshop for all Fellows and Scholars to improve our public speaking skills. 

Fellows are also strongly encouraged to keep a sketchbook, for notes and sketches. My sketching skills have greatly improved this year thanks to this discipline, and I can now see how useful this will be in my career. 

A typical day as a Fellow would be traveling to a new site, meeting the team and getting a tour of the place. We would hear about the work happening and the conservation approach chosen on this specific site. We would listen and debate. Sometimes visiting two, three or even four sites in a day. 

We've seen a wide variety of sites, from the large and mighty like Westminster Abbey and Manchester Town Hall, to small and forgotten ruins and follies, and all in between. We've talked about dire situations, such as a building close to collapse, and debated about minor details. 

On top of our Fellowship tour, we've also attended the week-long SPAB repair course, two working parties and we were invited to join the Building Limes Forum conference in Brighton. 

We've seen many different materials, like paint, brick, terracotta, tiles, a wide variety of stones, roofing slate, glass, wood, lead, steel... and of course lime. Lime mortars are a big topic of conversation during the Fellowship. At most sites we would debate about all types of mortars: hot mixed, hydraulic mixes, cement mixes and hybrid mixes. We also talked about pozzolans, plastering hair and fibres, lime kilns, the different slaking methods and how to apply and attend. I gained invaluable knowledge on these subjects this year. 

We spent time in the north of England and the southeast, as well as two weeks in Scotland, two weeks in Ireland and one week in Burgundy, France. We saw different vernacular architecture, different techniques and adaptations made to work with different weather conditions. 

The pace of the first two blocks is intense, and there seems to be little time to process all the information. But it’s also the intensity of the program that makes it so efficient. It's a marathon for knowledge, each day getting more and more. There are few opportunities for hands-on activities, most of our time is spend listening and debating. 

The last block, block three, is set differently than the first two. There, each Fellow picks a hands-on placement, of most likely a week or two, to spend with someone or at a workshop of their choice. I decided to spend two weeks with the masons' yard at Gloucester Cathedral, in addition to a week stone carving with Michelle De Bruin in Scotland, a week carving at City and Guilds London Art School, a few days with letter carver Tom Perkins and calligrapher Gaynor Hoffe, and a week talking about earth buildings and mortars with Alex Gibbons. 

My two weeks at Gloucester Cathedral was quite a memorable moment as I then realised how much knowledge I had harvested during the year, and how much confidence I had gained. I was able to express myself clearly and debate with the masons. I understood the bigger picture and I knew what questions to ask. 

'The Fellowship isn't just about conservative repairs, it also brings debates on larger topics like the preservation of intangible skills, the importance of training and passing on knowledge, the impact of climate change on buildings and ways to help the crisis. It makes you look ahead and think for the next generations.'

During the Fellowship, SPAB not only organised our day-to-day programme, but they also tried to arrange as much free accommodation as possible. This means relying on the kindness of hosts, and overall, we have been lucky this year. Some hosts have also been very generous with providing food. 

We tried to keep our spending as minimal, but costs still add up quickly between fuel, extra accommodation, food, bills at home and inevitable unexpected events like car issues. It would have been a real struggle to go through this year without the generous bursary from the Worshipful Company of Masons, plus additional funding from the York Consortium for Craft and Conservation and the William Morris Craft Fellowship Trust emergency fund.  

The SPAB Fellowship is a wholesome programme that fabricates better craftspeople. It goes in depth and breadth. It makes people smarter and wiser, and I would recommend this course to any craftsperson. I think masons will benefit greatly from the course as many sites visited are stone buildings (many churches), and because of the thorough study on lime mortars. 

The Fellowship isn't just about conservative repairs, it also brings debates on larger topics like the preservation of intangible skills, the importance of training and passing on knowledge, the impact of climate change on buildings and ways to help the crisis. It makes you look ahead and think for the next generations. 

It has been a humbling experience as well; I've realised that every situation is different, and the way forward is to work together. We are taught to challenge what we hear and to listen to different opinions. 

I've gained a lot of confidence in talking with architects and other professionals, which will undoubtedly help my future working on sites. 

The SPAB Fellowship is a giant leap forward in people's career, and there is no doubt that great things will be produced from it.