40 ACO BUSINESS NEWS branch boundaries, nor to those of the existing CBA regional groups or the local authority regional conference areas. They also contain very diverse industrial archaeology characteristics. Panels are intended to have a core of not more than 20 members and meet twice a year (to coincide broadly with the CBA's co-ordinating IA Research Committee). Various interested groups would be represented but not all, with other organisations being invited to attend in the area in which the panel would meet. The CBA sees the most appropriate planning contact being made at county level with those officers maintaining sites & monuments records but the ACO would also be represented to ensure continuity of contact with conservation officers at both tiers and rather than having all districts represented. Perhaps this is a further small incentive for non-ACO conservation staff to become members? At present the ACO is represented on the South West Panel by Chris Smith; the West Midlands by Brian Moore; and East Anglia/East Midlands by Bob Kindred and Mark Barnard. It should be emphasised though chat these arrangements for the ACO to be formal participants have only been secup very recently at the invitation of the CBA. ACO members with a particular interest or expertise 1n industrial archaeology would be very welcome to become involved. Anyone who would like to represent the ACO, especially if attending a panel in another capacity, should contact the Secretary, Liz Marten, so that representation on panels can be co-ordinated. Remember that the IAP boundaries don't coincide with the ACO branch boundaries so it would be appropriate, for example in the East Anglia/East Midlands IAP area, to have reps from both ACO branches, probably on a rota basis according to the venues for meetings. It is suggested that the Panels should include among their terms of reference: □ monitoring listed building consent applications and advising statutory bodies. □ preparing inventories of buildings and structures and sites of importance, particularly with regional significance, so as to place industries in a national context. An example is a recently completed study of Cornish engine houses in Wales; □ acting as a forum for amateurs and professionals (such as conservation officers) to establish links with national bodies (such as the ACO); □ co-ordinating and exchanging information (and reducing the risk of duplication) and disseminating expert knowledge. It is hoped that the panels can establish indices of expertise which would be particularly helpful to hard pressed conservation officers especially in placing buildings 1n context concerning their significance, rarity, listing potential etc. Bibliographies of relevant publications would also be useful. Links with academic institutions and educational establishments to compile lists of research (including student projects) would also be helpful. Bob Kindred HOLIDAY EXCHANGE: A NEW IDEA FOR ACO Have you ever thought that, while you are away on holiday, your house is a wasted asset? Do you have difficulty arranging for neighbours to water the tomatoes and care for the house plants? Do you worry that an unoccupied home may be vulnerable to a break-in? If so, here is a possible solution to all of these problems. Among the membership of the ACO there must be many who live in a listed building or in a house located in a conservation area, an historic city, town or village, a National Park or AONB, or in an attractive rural or seaside environment. Perhaps some of those members would be prepared to exchange their house with a member from elsewhere, for a one or two week holiday, confident that their home would be well cared for and enjoyed by a fellow conservation officer. In declaring that my family home could be made available for such a mutual exchange, I invite members who are potentially interested to write to me, setting out brief details of what they could offer and what they would be seeking. If the response is sufficiently encouraging, I would propose to circulate a questionnaire, with a view to creating a 'catalogue that could be made available to those participating in an enlarged scheme. Any assistance with the costs of postage and photocopying would be appreciated. David Richardson South West Branch Officer Ashley Gables, Tiverton, Devon EX16 5PA PAPER ROOFS: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Over the last five years or so three separate examples of buildings dating from the early 19th century and originally roofed with paper have been discovered in the vicinity of Oxford. J C Loudon, the agricultural reformer, advocated the use of paper as a roofing material in two pamphlets published in 1811 and 1812, and gave a number of other Oxfordshire examples. But he also claimed a far wider distribution for the material, citing a church in Dunfermline, farmhouses in Scotland, warehouses at Greenock, Deal, Dover and Canterbury, and factories in Yorkshire and Hertfordshire. I am in the process of writing up the Oxfordshire discoveries for publication and I am anxious to know whether any other examples have survived elsewhere in England or Scotland. The usual clue is a very shallow pitch to the roof (around 10°). The roof structure as advocated by Loudon comprised coupled rafters 6 to 10 feet apart jointed by horizontal laths at 1 foot intervals. Quarter inch boards running from eaves to ridge were nailed onto the backs of the laths and the roof was covered with sheets of prepared paper laid in an overlapping fashion like slates, nailed to the boards, and then finished with an overall coat of pitch. The date span for this technique seems to be from about 1780 to round about 1830. The extant examples in Oxfordshire can all be associated with paper mills and it is possible that the neighbourhood of other paper mills would provide a fruitful location in the search for other survivors. If anybody knows of any other examples (either surviving or demolished) I would be grateful if they would contact me as soon as possible on 0491 35351 during working hours or write to me at 39 High Street, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxford OX9 8HN. Malcolm Airs South Oxfordshire DC YORKSHIRE BRANCH The inaugural annual meeting for the Branch was held on 11 December 1990 at Fairfax House, Castlegate, York. It adopted Rules for the Branch and decided upon arrangements for 1991. CONTEXT 29
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