The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings

To celebrate National Mills Weekend, join us for a springtime walk around beautiful Dean Village with its 800 years of milling history.

Led by tour guide Estelle Meyer and stone conservation expert Nic Boyes, we’ll explore the area’s fascinating industrial history and discuss some of the conservation and building maintenance issues we spot along the way.

The walk will also include entry into the rarely open St Bernard's Well, a wonderful Greco-Roman building housing a natural spring.
Who is it for?

This walk is for mills enthusiasts, Edinburgh residents, or visitors who would like to learn a little more about the city’s forgotten industrial past.

You will need:

- Please wear sturdy footwear and dress for the weather on the day.

Speakers:

- Estelle Meyer is an architect, historian and tour guide at Cobble Tales Tours.

- Nic Boyes is a stone conservation consultant and SPAB Scotland Guardian.

Whether you photograph old buildings for work or as a hobby, join us on this always-popular four-step workshop with experienced professional photographer Ralph Hodgson.

You’ll receive guidance on techniques and composition to develop your appreciation of the space and light of old buildings and to boost your confidence in photographing their textures, details and features.

Spaces on this workshop are limited to allow for small group discussion. You’ll need some familiarity with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras and a few photography basics. The workshop consists of approximately 5 hours of guided learning and an independent task to submit. Certificates of attendance for CPD purposes are available on request.

This workshop is suitable for:

- Anyone with a general interest in photographing old buildings.
- Property managers or building conservation professionals who wish to enhance the composition of their photography for record keeping and reporting.

“The course exceeded my expectations, helping me to better understand some of the general principals of architectural photography, but also how to be more critical of the images I create and use. It was very good value, and well-paced, giving time to absorb the information and apply it practically.” – workshop participant.
Workshop schedule

Step 1: from 22 April 2024, you will receive access to a pre-recorded presentation by professional photographer and workshop tutor Ralph Hodgson. Watch this recording to prepare for step 2.

You have access to this pre-recorded presentation for the duration of the workshop to view as many times as you like. Ralph’s presentation provides inspiration, technique advice and guidance on photographing old buildings, and introduces the independent task required to complete this workshop.

Step 2: join us for an informal online group session on Wednesday 8 May 2024 from 11am – 12.30pm (BST).
Workshop tutor Ralph Hodgson will provide examples for improving your photography and further explanation of the independent task. Gaps in photography technical knowledge will also be addressed with helpful tips from Ralph. This will be an opportunity for you to virtually meet others on the workshop, and to ask us any questions before embarking on the independent task. The meeting will be recorded and you will receive access to this for the duration of the workshop.

Step 3: for the independent workshop task, you should use a digital SLR or mirrorless camera and a tripod (if you have access to one) to photograph an old building that interests you and create a miniseries of photographs (photo essay) during the workshop timeframe. Ideas of how to approach the task are covered in the pre-recorded presentation and during the first group session (steps 1 and 2). The independent task submission deadline is midday on 11 June 2024. Details of how to submit your task will be shared in the workshop information pack.

Step 4: your photographic essay will be reviewed by Ralph Hodgson in a relaxed online group feedback session live on Wednesday 19 June 2024 from 10.30am – 1pm (BST). This meeting will also be recorded for you to watch again on demand.

“The constructive feedback from Ralph was very useful and done so in a relaxed environment with a friendly tone. Such evaluations will ultimately make me a better photographer, of old buildings or otherwise. I used the course as the basis of a workplace objective, so it was useful proof of CPD for my career.” – workshop participant.
Workshop prerequisites

- Digital SLR or mirrorless camera (and a tripod, if you have access to one).
- Familiarity with basic photography skills, composition and techniques.
- An opportunity to photograph an old building. *
- The ability to digitally transfer your workshop task (photographic essay) to the SPAB.
- Access to the online presentation and group sessions – a device, connected to the Internet, which can play audio and visual. You do not need to be on camera for the group session (although we do encourage it). To be able to contribute to the discussion you would need a microphone or be able to type your comments during the session.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these prerequisites before registering for the workshop.

* If you require permission – for example from the owner – to photograph your chosen old building, please obtain it before you start. Access to the inside of an old building is not essential for this activity. The SPAB cannot be held responsible for any actions (by you or others) when you are photographing an old building for this workshop.
Use of your photographs

We have been inspired by and proud of photographs taken by previous workshop participants. By registering for the workshop, you consent to the SPAB displaying your photo essay in the live online group discussion session (which will be recorded for participants to watch on demand for a limited time), and to use of your photographs for further promotion of this workshop by the SPAB through our digital and printed communications. Full credit will be given to the photographer. The SPAB will not use your photographs for any other purpose without your prior written consent. Please contact us if this is something you would like to discuss before registering for the workshop.

If you work in building conservation, have you ever wanted the chance to peel back the layers on someone else’s repair project and reveal the thinking behind each step?

As the exterior repairs at our Old House Project come to an end, join us for this one-off day of CPD exploring the SPAB Approach in action on our most challenging repair project to date.

You’ll hear from key specialists involved in this award-winning repair project, including the lead architect, structural engineer, project manager, contractor, and specialist craftspeople. Through talks, discussions and demonstrations, you’ll get an unvarnished view of the challenges they faced, the considerations they juggled, and the sometimes-unconventional solutions they adopted to bring this Grade II* listed ‘building at risk’ back to life.

Whether you’re an architect, engineer, surveyor or other professional, you should end the day with fresh connections, new ideas, and learnings you can take forward on projects of your own.
Who is this course for?

This one-day course is perfect for building conservation specialists, including architects, engineers and building surveyors.
You will learn

-The key principles of the SPAB Approach to building conservation, with real-world case studies to show what this looks like in practice.
-How specialist appraisals, investigations and monitoring systems can be used to develop low-intervention structural recommendations.
-The approaches you can take to develop design solutions that are sensitive to both the building’s historic fabric and the needs of its future occupants.
-The different repair options that may be available to you on a project like this, and how to collaborate with other professionals and specialist craftspeople to put them into practice.