26 C O N T E X T 1 3 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 3 S C Annual School nual School 2012 chool 2013 IHBC An 011 IHBC Annual IHBC Annual School School 2013 IHBC IHBC Annual Scho their dwellings. In Dumfries and Galloway, the agricultural revolution appears to have inspired the large estates to sweep away such anachronisms. The tour concentrated on three villages on the western edge of Carlisle which retain numerous buildings in varying states of repair. The selection of subjects amply demonstrated that clay building was not restricted to small single-storey cottages, but was equally suitable for larger and high-status buildings, such as the old vicarage at Burgh by Sands and the two barns also seen on the tour. At Leigh Cottage and Cross Farm, both in Burgh, construction of the walls was clearly on view as they were undergoing repair. The lifts of clay are bound by layers of straw at intervals of about 150mm, enabling the walls to be built within a day, as moisture could be drawn off rapidly. This was common practice on both sides of the Solway, contrasting with the more leisurely process employed in the building of cob houses in the south west. Lamonby Farm, in the same village, one of the earliest dabbins to be conserved, is one of few to have attained a Grade II* listing. A derelict farm outbuilding at Thurstonfield, which had begun life as a dwelling, displayed the most common cause of failure in clay buildings everywhere, that of the application of cement render in place of lime. The familiar problem of water ingress through cracks in the impermeable coating had caused the clay to collapse through liquefaction. The final port of call was a seemingly unpromising cul de sac in Moorhouse. A clay-walled barn was one of several buildings retained and converted as part of the development of a farm into a small housing estate. In being adapted, subdivision of the barn was probably inevitable, but it was done in such a way that many of the partitions did not extend above the ground floor, and the roof structure was shown to good effect. Like the barn at Cross Farm, this featured large crucks, which are another distinctive element of clay dabbins of all sizes. Attempts to establish building dates by means of dendrochronology and radio-carbon dating has been complicated by the varying quality of the timber, and the continuous recycling of materials, but a felling date of around 1462 was suggested for samples at Moorhouse. There has been a greater appreciation of the Solway’s clay buildings since the listing resurvey of the 1980s (which largely ignored them). An English-Heritagesupported training programme has encouraged owners and contractors to revive skills which have passed out of living memory. RichardWilson Brougham Hall and Lowther Castle Descending from the coach, we were initially impressed by the apparent level of original fabric that remains at the Grade II* Brougham Hall. It has been the site of a fortified house since the 12th century. We headed for the Guard House, where we were slightly startled by a disembodied voice on a loop-tape which boomed ‘hello, please help us in our private endeavour to save this 14th century house’ as we made our Lowther Castle was 26-year-old Robert Smirke’s first commission. (Photo: Elizabeth Blood)
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