36 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 A sponsored place at the annual school Nadia Knifton’s place was sponsored by IHBC East Anglia I am in my second year of the master of studies in building history at the University of Cambridge. I was able to attend the full three days of the annual school as I won the IHBC East Anglia branch sponsored student place. I had never been to an IHBC event before and very much enjoyed the weekend. On Thursday I joined the Norman Nobility tour, which was led by Stephen Perse.The two points of the tour which I found the most intriguing were inside the keep of Norwich Castle and in the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral. I really enjoyed hearing Perse’s explanation of the squinches in the keep, and the problems which the curator and the rest of the staff at the castle are facing. It was interesting to hear about the importance of the Victorian elements that are found in the keep, but also how they may prove to be a limitation in some proposed attempts to revive the appearance of the keep in Norman times. For me, the highlight of the tour of Norwich Cathedral was being able to see the development of tracery design by walking around the cloister with Perse. Friday’s talks were very informative. I was particularly keen to attend the talk given by Sir Laurie Magnus as I would not normally have had the chance to hear him speak. I was very pleased to be able learn more about Historic England and its corporate plan. Another highlight on Friday was seeing the Geometria 3D models of the whaling station in South Georgia during Michael Morrison’s talk on ‘Tales of an architect in foreign fields’. Morrison’s talk brought to light both technologies and historic buildings which I had not been aware of before attending the annual school. On Saturday I opted for the Merchants of Lynn and the Hanseatic League Tour, led by Paul Richards. I especially enjoyed learning about King’s Lynn’s links with Germany and how the Hanseatic League functioned. The highlight of the tour was the Visitors’ Centre, not only because of its classical design, which contrasts so greatly with the rest of King’s Lynn, but also because of the topics that Richards covered when we were there. Had it not been for the IHBC-sponsored student place at the annual school, I would not have been able to attend, even for the day school. I have learned more about historic buildings and the kind of roles I can aim to work in when I graduate. I was able to meet people who are already established in the field and gain insight into the kind of work they do. I certainly hope to become a regular attendee in the years to come. Nadia Knifton Nadia Knifton (right, with Amanda Rix): learning about squinches
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