THE VALUE AND CARE OF TRADITIONAL AND VERNACULAR BUILDINGS IN NORTH WALES.
I am often asked what is meant by the word vernacular. What are vernacular buildings? By comparison, it is easy to recognise the work of architects. Fine buildings, that have aspirations of grandeur and class, reflecting the wealth or status of their owners. These buildings were designed, by architects or master builders, often using pattern books. It is intended that they are visually important, and are therefore very often valuable for what they contribute to a local area or townscape. Such buildings are therefore often protected by listing or conservation status.
Vernacular buildings are just the opposite. They are not designed. They do not stand out. They do not strike a posture or imply a status, except that of submission and humility. By vernacular architecture is meant the UN-architecture of functional rural buildings. Be they farm buildings, early industrial buildings or simple peasant housing, vernacular buildings are characterised by the fact that they blend into the local landscape. They have an inevitability in their form. They were not made by craftsmen builders, but by the skill of local people, each cottage copied from another, as if following an irresistible habit. It is therefore architecture by default. Local patterns and forms become almost inevitable, providing an endemic and historically evolving design. The use and understanding of local materials, and the use of local patterns with simple decorative variation, is characteristic of vernacular buildings, as also is a very high standard of practical craftsmanship.
It is easy to justify the importance and protection of historic buildings created by or for the wealthy. But rustic buildings are not so well understood. Yet I believe they are important, not only for what they tell us about the past and our "roots" in the landscape, but also for the quality of housing that they offer in the present day. By comparison all new housing seems to stand out of the landscape, to argue with and offend the countryside. Traditional buildings do not clash with the local landscape. Generally they are built to follow contours, and are attached to the landscape by out buildings, walls or hedges, giving the feeling that the have always been there. The use of natural local materials helps to blend with and conserve the environment. They have gentle homely proportions, and are well built. In all, they represent a standard of resourcefulness that is not found today.
Whilst listed buildings are legally protected, the great majority of traditional buildings have no legal protection. Buildings are often listed because of their visual importance. The very fact that traditional buildings do not stand out excludes them from protection. Yet the visual quality of the whole landscape depends very much upon the quality of the buildings that seem to congregate there naturally. As one passes through areas so very small changes may be seen, more in the use materials than actual construction. What would the Cotswolds be without its yellow grey limestone buildings? What would Kent be without its oast houses, red clay tiles and white clap board? What would Devon be without the smooth thatched cob buildings, and Norfolk without the flint nap? Yet there are areas, especially in North Wales and in Cornwall, where the local vernacular has now almost entirely been lost through insensitive piecemeal development.
The vernacular form in Wales is especially remarkable for its consistency throughout the whole region. From Newport to Holyhead, the basic form and layout is the same. At any period, floor plans of cottages in the north and the south will be very similar in plan. As soon as rectangular as opposed to round buildings became the norm, the simple one room cottage emerged, with a near standard floor space, and a large fire place set centrally within a gable wall. This fire place was the social centre for the family, where the food was cooked, initially by boiling in suspended cauldrons. Later fireplaces had brick lined bread ovens, and as coal replaced wood, so the size of the inglenook became smaller. Most older fireplaces have been bricked up in many stages to accommodate smaller and more efficient coal burning stoves. The first development to the basic Hafotty was the addition of a second room or parlour which was a reception room, and often above it was placed a crog loft bedroom with access by a ladder. This form of cottage developed into the traditional long house, by the addition of a barn and byres for animals, and a dairy. Later still, the bedrooms were enlarged, and the form known as the ‘polite house’ emerged, which is so characteristic throughout Wales. The important features are a gabled roof with a chimney at each end, placed within each gable, but not standing out from the wall, a central formal front door, flanked by a window on the ground floor and the first floor. The main room was generally to the left, and had a larger chimney. The parlour was to the right and had a smaller flue more suitable for burning coal. Most cottages were not exactly symmetrical, but had a wider spacing to wards the main room. Whilst the basic form of the traditional cottage is very similar throughout Wales, the use of materials and finishes varied considerably. In mid and south Wales, smaller stones and cob were often used, which was then lime washed, or painted in bright colours making the cottages gleam out from the landscape. In the north, it was the quality of the stone work that gave each cottage its character. Older cottages were made from very large roughly hewn stones, placed with incredibly accuracy, often without any mortar. Later cottages were built in coursed dressed stone. By contrast the utility buildings were often made from smaller stones.
So what happens to these remarkable buildings now? Many words are used to describe the processes: conservation, restoration, repair, renovation, refurbishment, rebuilding, replacement, regeneration and development. Each description has to me a particular meaning, some with very negative connotations.
Renovation and refurbishment for example, imply making an old structure become new, or more suitable for a new use in a manner which may not respect the unique qualities of the original building. Restoration implies a return to a former state, in which all salvable material will be retained and made good, and every effort will be made to return the structure to its original form. Repair, suggests a process of retaining most of the structure, but with minor works necessary by way of sympathetic maintenance. Regeneration implies a more active process, in which work on several buildings or a whole area will encourage a new use, which will be of greater social cultural or economic value. Conservation implies a process to retain the present but vulnerable state of a structure. It assumes that there is need of some degree of protection, but restoration is neither possible nor desirable. Conserved buildings may no longer serve a useful purpose or function except as an example of its type, or as a museum. The word preservation is often used to cover aspects of all of these functions.
One of the most dangerous terms used to-day is "Grant work". This generally involves the total reconstruction of all traditional features, and results in a building that is not a modern house and is no longer an old one. The phrase Grant Work is used to imply that there is an inevitable and excusable act of wanton destruction about to take place. The only benefit is that a lot of money will move around in the process.
Before contemplating any works project on a listed or vernacular building, it is important to have a very clear idea of what sort of regime will be used. I have copied my own ten point set of standards for work on all old buildings. Generally, the use of simple traditional techniques are much cheaper than the use of modern ones, so long as materials are readily available. The policy of altering as little as possible, and only replacing undesirable alterations reduces very considerably the cost of restoring an old building. By comparison, renovation schemes which require the complete gutting of a building, and subsequent replacement is very wasteful not just of historic material, but also of present day resources.
So if we are to avoid these pitfalls, then what simple advice can I give?
Firstly, keep the original cottage form, and exposed natural materials. Avoid the hard-edge look, keep arises soft, roofs hollow not flat. Don’t change roof angles, do not use flat roofs. Avoid the removal of attached walls and out buildings, but incorporate them into the building. Any additions or extensions should retreat from or fall behind or within the line of the original. Keep original window proportions, do not widen them and do not raise the cills of first floor windows. Small windows with wide reveals will give plenty of light. Keep the interior reveals angled to reflect the soft quality of light into a room. So often, I have seen builders widen windows, thereby taking out the important stone quoins, and then they square up the reveals so the room is in effect darkened by the hard-edged contrast of light and shade. The exterior then has to be rendered and pebledashed to cover up the mess.
Retain traditional purlin roof construction, with purlins touching the rafters, so the diagonal of the purlin is vertical. Do not replace traditional near square purlins with flimsy factory made rafter trusses, or modern thin wide timbers which have no strength. Raise the ridge a few inches to wards the chimneys to give the roof line form and shape. Do not remove chimneys, even if they are no longer used. Use random slate widths, with diminishing courses rather than regular slate work, especially on pre 1850 cottages. Use thick extra heavy slates to give a texture and which are much cheaper, rather than modern cut slates which look like flat plastic tiles. Avoid the use of lead for soakers or flashings. If you must use lead, then hide it under mortar. Use slated valleys on dormers.
For new work, use matching stone where ever possible, properly coursed. Do not use random crazy paving stone work that looks as if it comes off a wallpaper roll. If you must use blockwork then render it with a slightly uneven surface, but do not apply an artificial combed texture. Try to keep any cut quoins, and lintels. Creative render work can be very decorative, and many local examples can still be seen.
Damp is commonly used as an excuse for unnecessarily drastic renovation. Most rising damp can be removed instantly, without the need for electrical or injected chemical treatments. These modern techniques will not help in stonework anyway. The best, and to my mind the only, method is simplicity itself. Dig a deep ditch around and then away from the building. Dig it as deep as you can without endangering the building. Then lay in a large vented drain pipe, and cover it with large clean stones to within 6" of the ground surface. Then lay a slate cover, like a roof, draining away from the footings, and turf over it. In this way any water in the ground will drain away leaving the cottage standing upon a dry island. Any water running down the wall will be drawn away from the footings and will enter the rubble fill and drain into the ditch. This technique is called a French ditch. When used properly, it cannot fail. Don’t be tempted to leave the stone fill as an uncovered rubble.
Avoid using modern Portland cement mortars. You will notice that all old buildings are made with soft white mortars often with large particles of river sand, up to 6 mm in diameter. This is not an inferior mortar, to be replaced at the first opportunity by modern cements with plasticisers, extenders and waterproofers. Lime mortars have many useful qualities that modern Portland cements do not have. In particular they breathe, thereby allowing any moisture contained within the wall mass to evaporate from the wall surface. Modern cements do not breathe, and entrap moisture causing interior dampness. Lime mortars also are slightly resilient, and yeald to the micro movement that occurs as stonework accommodates to changes in temperature and humidity. Modern cements crack and then draw in even more moisture. So wherever possible, use lime based mortars and plasters. This will not be achieved by simply adding extra hydrated lime powder to a standard Portland cement mix. It is a common confusion that a lime mortar is a normal cement mortar with a little hydrated lime powder added to it. This sort of mortar is used for new brickwork. Proper lime mortars must be made up correctly, from a slaked lime putty, which can be beaten up and stored under water in a large tank until required for use. Premixed lime putty can also be purchased in plastic tubs, ready for use. It takes builders a while to get used to the old way of thinking again. We have got so used to mixing up sand and Portland cement just as and when we need it. Any left over goes to waste. Lime mortars should be prepared well in advance. Any left over can be kept for re-use on the next job reducing waste. There are many tricks to the use of lime mortar in stone repointing. It must be one of the most interesting and rewarding of all conservation tasks.
If you must render, avoid hard edged metal scrim or bell mouth render stops. They serve no purpose except to draw attention to water staining. To make soft light reflecting corners, just use the surface between your hand and thumb. Avoid the use of fibre glass, expanded polystyrene or polyurethane as insulation. Instead use rockwool, wood fibre foam, or natural fleece dipped in cement fireproofing. Highly insulating torching, traditionally placed under slated roofs can be replaced with a sticky lime mortar mix with a fill of vermiculite or pearlite, or both. Avoid metal or plastic windows. If possible use traditional wooden windows made from straight grained pine, and paint them with white casements and tinted or black frames. Use lime wash or Keim paint for outside work, and casein or Hoskins distemper for interior work. Traditional lead paints cannot be beaten for woodwork. Do not use vinyl paints, as they will always blister and can cause health problems through the emission of vinyl chloride.
Above all, remember that old buildings do not need to look new. Buildings have a right to look their age. But this does not mean they need suffer neglect. Most people to-day would not dream of altering an old painting, or polishing a beautiful bronze sculpture. The age and patina of antiques is prized. In the same way, buildings have a right to look old.
Finally, don’t forget that the old techniques are just as relevant to-day as they were in the past. Do not dismiss the use of traditional materials, especially if they are already available in site. There is no reason why these traditional and well proven techniques should not be used for new buildings, especially for those in rural and conservation areas. In North Wales there is an urgent need to redeem our heritage of vernacular buildings. John Nicholson. November, 1996.
TEN POINT CRITERIA FOR CONSERVATION OF OLD BUILDINGS
1). Before making any alterations, record the existing site and structure with drawings and photographs of every elevation and detail.
2). Retain as much as possible of the original building.
3). Repair rather than replace, using matching material, formed in the same manner as found in the original.
4). Avoid introducing any out-of-period elements, like metal timber hangers or incorrect mortars. If new materials have to be introduced to meet modern standards of insulation etc., then where ever possible use techniques that are similar to traditional ones.
5). Where possible remove blatant out-of-period alterations, and replace the original form and structure.
6). Do not build new extensions in front of an original structure, or in any way that detracts from the original form.
7). Do not hide modern materials or technologies within original structures. An exception may be structural wall ties.
8). Use traditional methods for damp protection. ( e.g. a French ditch).
9). Avoid the use of modern paints and mortars. Instead use much cheaper distempers and lime washes, and lime mortars.
10) Do not try to make the building look like new, neither fake or mock ageing. You can never make a genuine old thing, Old buildings should be allowed to look old, but cared for.
John Nicholson, Tanrallt, Rhostryfan, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL54 7NT (01286)
830312.