Description
Join us 10th June for a CPD on Bringing light to an unacknowledged construction technique. The case for Earth mortared stone construction in Ireland.
What is Earth mortared stone construction? Clay mortars and mud mortars are terms bandied around to categorise this construction technique, but these are imprecise and incorrect designations resulting in extensive misclassification of Historic Building construction techniques, either in the recent past [post AD1700] or in the distant past [pre AD1700]. Other forms of earth-built constructs such as cob wall or clay wall are equally misunderstood and commonly misclassified in historic building recording by practitioners. Lack of understanding and confusion in terminology has resulted in a loss in understanding vernacular building construction techniques in Ireland and wider afield. Lack of understanding and poor building recording has led to a lack of identification of Earth mortared stone construction in Ireland. This has knock on effects towards their appropriate ‘fit for purpose’ historic building conservation. The first step in changing negative perceptions and practices is awareness and understanding of this building technique.
Speaker
Dr Shirley Markley MA MUBC MIAI has been a lecturer in the cross disciplinary fields of architecture and archaeology for the last 20 years in Atlantic Technological University. A buildings archaeologist by training, she has worked with commercial consultancies [archaeologist, engineers and architects] on conservation projects, formerly was director of her own archaeological consultancy as well as worked within a Local Authority setting as a former Heritage Officer. She has undertaken numerous archaeological excavations and buildings archaeology investigations across Ireland. Her academic studies have focused on industrial buildings [MA], vernacular buildings [MUBC] while her doctoral research specialised in later medieval [AD100-1550] historic building construction focusing on the unrecognised use of earth mortared stone construction as a vernacular building tradition in Ireland and Britain.
Book publication: O’Shea, K. and Markley, S. 2013. OPEN DOOR: Connecting People, Place and Heritage. Sligo: Sligo Cunty Council.
