covering the principal 19th century shopping street which has declined as the result of the opening of a new shopping precinct some fifteen years ago. Property owners are being encouraged to improve their property with grant assistance from the Council which is aillled at correcting structural problems and repairing and restoring original features. There are some gems - "The Shades" pub with its beautiful terracotta busts of attractive young ladies (the pub is, sadly, closed and is to be re-furbished as a club); a group of shops adjacent which have had an extensive refurbishment of their 19th century frontage and are in use as a computer centre; the superb brick and terracotta Grand Hotel, still in its original use; Christ Church, at present disused but well maintained by the Borough Council; and finally, superb classical Wesleyan Church sadly decaying but in a most prominentposition and ideal for conversion to commercial or residential use. This is an area of considerable character, and al though a considerab'le samount of work remains to be done, the Council must be congratulated for taking the lead in promoting this scheme of area improvement. The most urgent item outstanding is to find a new use for the Wesleyan Church before it is too late. We feel certain that this must· be possible given the building's location and potential for alternative use. At a meeting following the visit, it was decided to produce transactions of the Northern Region in the form of a newsletter rather than minutes of meetings. This can contain contributions from members on items of interest as well as reports of meetings and visits. The next edition will be in May; contributions to the secretary, Ian Ayris, on Tyneside 232 8520,ext 6149. It is hoped the newsletter will contain information on the activities of other groups in the region such as the Co.Durham Vernacular Architecture Group and the North East Civic Trust. The next meeting will be held on 3rd April in Durham at 2.30pm, when we will be given a conducted tour of those parts of Durham Cathedral which the public do not normally reach, by Pat Mussett from the Dept. of Palaeography, Durham University. Mike King South THE CONSERVATION OF TIMBER FRAMED BUILDINGS The Southern Branch held its annual oneday conference at Wokingham on 7th February. A very good-sized audience heard Richard Harris, Martin Robertson, (HBMC), Peter Richards (Essex CC) and David Mansfield Thomas, architect, discuss varied aspects of the development, repair, protection and re-use of timber framed buildings in this country. Richard Harris analysed timber framing techniques in terms of a language metaphor; the vocabulary changes but the grammatical 'rules' remain the same. His four rules for timber framing in Europe concern the constant factors of tie-beam/lap dovetail assembly; the ' or 6 anization of the bays; the direction in which the upper face of the timber is laid; and the conversion of the timber. However, just as the grammar of a language does not determine the form of the sentence, the 'rules' of timber-framing technique do not ultimately determine the form of a building -they dictate only that it will make sense. The meaning of a building comes from the connection between the structure that gives the building its form, and the way in which it is used. Martin Robertson discussed how timberframed buildings had fared in the nearlycomplete re-survey. Many have been removed from the list because of unsympathetic alterations - although in the case of barn conversions, timber framing is more likely to stay listed than brick,as it stands a better chance of surviving intact and retaining its character. Peter Richards outlined repair practise and policy in Essex, with many case studies and examples. David Mansfield Thomas gave a lovingly detailed exposition of his careful restoration of a ClS manor in Surrey. Altogether, an excellent day of information and philosophy, and excellent value at £4.00! The one-day conference is now something that ACO's Southern and Eastern Branches are doing very well. Page 18
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