Conservation Areas which would help to enhance and preserve local identity, and support sustainability and regeneration. The title 'Material Matters in Conservation' had a deliberate double meaning. The School was divided into two sections: the academic discussion (dealt with at the Day School), and the practical hands-on approach provided at Acton Scott Working Farm (managed by Shropshire County Council). At Acton Scott, craft experts demonstrated a wide range of conservation skills and provide the opportunity for delegates to 'get stuck in', to 'get their hands dirty and have a go'. Among the many activities available was brick making. But what is the point in making bricks ifyou have no facilities to fire them? To overcome that minor difficulty the West Midlands Branch built its own brick kiln at Acton Scott! But why? - a question asked by many delegates. The concept began several years ago when Colin Richards (Conservation Officer for South Shropshire DC) and Charles Donovan (then of Leominster DC) persuaded Northcot Bricks to produce commercially fired Context59 September1998 bricks from clay taken from Bromfield gravel works in Shropshire for historic building repairs in Ludlow. The concept, of course, is local bricks from local clays for local repairs - the traditional way things were clone. However, with the demise of local clay pits, the decay and demolition of local kilns, and the rise of national brick makers, the concept of local identity became grossly eroded. Conse1vation practitioners will be keenly aware of the difficulties of achieving a good matching brick for local repairs. TheProject Northcot Bricks had proved that production from clay sourced close to areas where the original bricks were particularly distinctive was commercial viable. The Marches Red brick has been used to critical acclaim in sensitive locations along the Welsh border and is particularly compatible with local late 18th century and 19th century buildings, but there still existed the problem of matching 17th century and 18th century and the more rustic brickwork of the rural areas in the borderlands. Often small quantities Top left: a proud John Yates (second left) with Charles Donovan, Colin Richards and Kevin Stevensat the opening of the brick clamp. Top centre: Noel Knight making moulds for brickmaking. Top right: Carol Marsden (Malvern DC Conservation Officer) tries her hand. Left: members of the publiuc enioying brickmaking at Aston Scott. were required in restoration work and with the age of such properties, salvaged bricks were often incapable of long term reuse. We decided to use the School to explore the possibility of re-establishing the craft of local brickmaking - hence the construction of the kiln. If the project were to succeed we could foresee a tremendous educational spinoff as well as an opportunity for sustaining local identity through the production of local bricks from local materials. We began by seeking Planning Permission for the construction of the kiln (yes even we had to run the gauntlet of the planning system). We also used the same local clay source as Northcot - the Bromfield gravel pits, where the clay was being removed anyway and was almost a waste product. The kiln is an updraught beehive structure modelled on a SUJviving kiln (elate 1870) at Oreton, near Clee Hill in Shropshire. The kiln was constructed by West Midlands Branch Members, although this was not the original intention! The exterior of the kiln is constructed from the Marches Red Brick produced and supplied (through conference sponsorship) by Northcot Bricks, set in lime mortar mixed and supplied (again through sponsorship) by the Traditional Lime Company in Cheltenham. The interior of the kiln is con13
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