Latest News
Build a new life in the country
4 July 2008
ARE YOU MOVING TO YOUR DREAM LOCATION WHERE YOU WILL BE RENOVATING YOUR DREAM PROPERTY?
The ‘Build a New Life’ team from Channel 5 are looking for hands on people who are starting work on a property renovation.The producers would like to hear from people who are moving to an idyllic part of the countryside to renovate buildings such as ruined barns, old farmhouses, redundant chapels, or even something more unusual, like a disused water tower into their dream home or dream business.
If you would be interested in documenting your inspirational journey please call Cecily at channel 5 tel:0207 985 716
Funding for courses
5 March 2008
The Scottish Lime Centre Trust have been selected by the National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS) as being a suitable partner institution to distribute grants to those studying or working in conservation through the Patricia Fay Memorial Fund.
This means that we are able to give financial assistance to learners who may have been unable to attend courses at Charlestown Workshops due to financial constraints. Click here to download further information and here for an application form.
Several of our courses here at Charlestown Workshops have recently been approved by ILA Scotland. 
ILA Scotland is a Scottish Executive scheme that can help you pay for the cost of your learning.
If you are over 18 and living in Scotland, you may be eligible for up to £200 a year of ILA funding. IF you earn £18,000 or less a year, or you are on benefits, you can apply for a £200 individual learning account to put towards a wide range of approved courses. Even if you earn more than £18,000 you can still get £100 towards courses that will help you develop skills that many employers are looking for.
The money is not a loan, so you don’t have to pay it back. You just need to contribute at least £10 for each course that you take using your ILA Scotland account.
To find out more, call the ILA Scotland helpline free on 0808 100 1090 or click here
Cumbernauld Doocot Open Day
3 March 2008
SLCT's masonry training squad have recently completed work to save the doocot situated in Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Cumbernauld Glen Wildlife Reserve. To celebrate, an open day was held within the Glen on Saturday 15 March.
The 17th century doocot was in desperate need of repairs following recent vandalism and inappropriate work undertaken in the 1950s. The project was supported by the Landfill Tax Community Fund.
Rachel Avery of the Scottish Wildlife Trust commented ‘The doocot is hugely valued by so many people in Cumbernauld, and it’s brilliant to see it looking so beautiful after its careful restoration. The old cement mortar used to repair the doocot in the past has all been carefully picked out and replaced by lime mortar, similar to what would have been used originally. This is much better for the stone work and shows the doocot off to perfection.’
Malcolm Ward of the Friends of Cumbernauld Glen group said “What a pleasure to see the doocot returned to near original condition and enhancing the glen once again. The work wouldn’t be possible without the successful partnership of all the organisations and the local community. Hopefully it will stand for another 400 years.”
Penicuik House Partnership
28 January 2008
2008 sees the beggining of a significant training project, the Penicuik House Partnership – a joint venture between the Scottish Lime Centre Trust and the Penicuik House Preservation Trust.
The project will see the consolidation of the ruin of the 18th century house, providing important training and education opportunities. This will be an unparalleled oppertunity to undertaken training on a 'live' project.
Penicuik House is the finest and most influential example of Palladian architecture in Scotland and the house itself sits within an important designed landscape. For further details click hereThe Merryhill Project
19 January 2008
The Merryhill project is one step closer to reality, with the imminent construction of welfare facilities and the relocation of our practical masonry training from Charlestown Workshops to Merryhilll later in 2008.
Merryhill will house a series of full-scale and depth facades reflecting the wealth and diversity of Scotland's masonry styles and materials from simple vernacular to grand Georgian facades offering unparalleled opportunities for the crafts and professionals to master all aspects of building conservation and repair to the highest level.
Fundraising for the second phase of the projects is ongoing. If you would like further information on the project or think you can help please contact us
Latest Vacancy
14 December 2007
The Scottish Lime Centre Trust is seeking applications to fill the post of Stonemason/Drystone Dyker. Working for Traditional Building Skills Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of SLCT you will be a timeserved Stonemason or Drystone Dyker.
This is a full-time post, attracting a salary subject to ability and experience. For further information please click here
To apply, please forward your C.V. together with a covering letter to:
David McCue,Foreman Mason
Traditional Building Skills
Charlestown Workshops
Rocks Road
Charlestown
Fife
KY11 3EN
Or click here to contact us for more information.
Course Schedule 2008
4 November 2007
A centre of excellence for traditional building skills, Charlestown Workshops offers a comprehensive training and education programme ranging from 1 day hands-on workshops to longer courses that can lead to the attainment of National Vocational Qualifications in Masonry Conservation.
Our courses for 2008 are now available to book online. For 2008 we have introduced some exciting new courses to our timetable including ‘Rubble Wall Building and Repair’, Drystone Dyking' and ‘Internal and External Plasterwork’. .
Still running are our popular one day 'Lime Pointing', 'Mechanical Spray Harling' and 'Plaster Patching and Repair' courses as well as longer courses for contractors and professionals. All of our workshops combine a mixture of theory and 'hands on' practical skills. For further details and booking please Click here.
We are also able to offer bespoke training solutions for the construction industry or as part of a training plan for THI’s etc. These can be delivered either on site to suit clients or at Charlestown Workshops. To discuss your needs please contact us.
Traditional Buildings and Cement
31 October 2006
At Charlestown Workshops, we think cement is great! – just not for repairing traditional buildings.
The image on the right highlights how hard, impervious cement mortars can affect natural stone masonry. This example is from a current ‘Charlestown Consultants’ project where we are advising a local authority on the most appropriate materials and methodology for repairing this building. For further information on lime mortars and their use please click on the Consultancy section on the left
Unfortunately re-pointing, more than any other maintenance operation, is frequently poorly executed using inappropriate materials. The performance of traditional masonry buildings depends on the ability of the building fabric to transmit moisture vapour. Both stone and mortar naturally absorb a certain amount of water and, importantly, allow it to dry out again. If this process is inhibited or thrown out of balance by the use of impermeable mortars a number of problems may be encountered including accelerated stone decay and water penetration.
National Construction Week 2006
17 October 2006
As part of National Construction Week, SLCT were pleased to welcome nine secondary school pupils
involved in Aberdeen City Councils 13-16 Trades Project.
Organised in conjunction with Aberdeen City Heritage Trust the pupils spent the day at Charlestown Workshops learning about traditional building techniques.
After an introduction to the Scottish Lime Centre Trust’s activities from director Roz Artis-Young the group built, loaded and fired our famous 3 minute kiln and watched a demonstration of quicklime being slaked to a lime putty.
The pupils were then given the opportunity to try traditional plastering and to prepare and point SLCT’s masonry training wall.
To round off the day the group visited a local SLCT project to see first hand the traditional building skills they had undertaken being put into practice.
On Site Training in Wick
9 October 2006
As part of the Second World War Air Raid Victims memorial garden project, training was delivered at the Bank Row Smoke House. The buildings comprise of high quality Caithness sandstone with clay cored walls. In Telford’s own handwritten specs for his commission from the fisheries board for the development at lower Pulteneytown he states ‘I am perfectly satisfied for these buildings to be constructed using the local sandstone, clay mortar walls and finished with lime’.
The main thrust of the workshop programme explained the importance of ensuring maximum compatibility of applied surface finishes to maintain effectiveness of clay cored masonry. Hard impervious modern cement core work and pointing can be disastrous when applied to Caithness sandstone and clay mortars. The high levels of moisture trapped by modern cements can cause clay to revert to soil or be washed out altogether causing bulging and irreparable damage to historic built fabric.
Saturdays open day gave members of the public an opportunity to get ‘hands on’ and take part in some of SLCT’s demonstrations. Experts were also on hand to give advice to historic building owners. Kids (and some of the adults!) were also kept busy painting plaster cast moulds.
SLCT are able to provide bespoke training solutions deliverable at our Charlestown Workshops or on site. We also welcome visits from school and community groups and can provide a range of interesting activities. For more information please contact us.
For further information concerning the Pulteneytown Townscape Heritage Initiative click here
Cairneyhill Project Launch
26 September 2006
Friday the 22nd of Sept saw Councillor Alan Kenney officially launch the project to restore the historic Watch House in Cairneyhill thanks to a grant of just over £30,000 (£30,500) from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The project will provide an educational focus for workshops in traditional building skills to be delivered by the Scottish Lime Centre Trust (SLCT) to local primary school children in conjunction with project partners the Cairneyhill Heritage Group (CHG).
The diminutive and ruinous watch house, in the Cairneyhill graveyard, was constructed 200 years ago during a period when the theft of bodies from graves for sale to anatomists was common place. Volunteers from the village would keep a long night vigil overlooking the graves from the safety of the protection of the watch house.
The project award from HLF will see the building, a roofless shell, conserved for future generations with Primary 7 children from both the Cairneyhill and Crombie schools taking part in a series of workshops, designed by the Scottish Lime Centre Trust, to introduce them to the traditional building materials and skills to be used in the restoration process.
When the Cairneyhill Heritage Group formed in 2004 the watch house was identified as an important part of the village’s local heritage at risk of being lost to future generations. The Scottish Lime Centre, a centre of excellence for traditional building skills, joined forces with CHG to bring the project to fruition. The work is programmed to complete by the end of the year. Guided site visits will run during the project, please contact the SLCT or CHG for further details.
Watch this space for regular updates as work progresses!
New Publication - Charlestown Limeworks, Research and Conservation
1 August 2006
Historic Scotland have just published Charlestown Limeworks, Research and Conservation, written by the Scottish Lime Centre Trust.
The publication is a result of detailed archival research into the operational workings of Charlestown Limeworks partly funded by the European Union. The study takes an overview of the complete process from quarrying to shipping including the development of the kilns and lime burning.
Copies can be purchased from Charlestown Workshops or by mail order. For more details please contact 01383 872 722 or info@scotlime.org
The Merryhill Project: Conserving Scotland's Built Heritage
1 July 2006
SLCT conceived a vision of creating a unique and world-class facility within the recently leased Merryhill agricultural store, close to Charlestown Workshops. Merryhill will house a series of full-scale and depth facades reflecting the wealth and diversity of Scotland's masonry styles and materials from simple vernacular to grand Georgian facades.
This unique resource will allow for unparalleled opportunities for the crafts and professionals to master al aspects of building conservation and repair to the highest level putting Scotland at the forefront of conservation best practice.
Having had pre-application discussions with the local planners, SLCT are currently preparing a planning application for submission in the near future and are in the process of fundraising