How can we "Explore Our Foundations"
Through events, workshops, talks and demonstrations you can dive into our foundations.
In built heritage, there are many ways to explore it. Through events that can look at Religious architecture, focusing on churches, cathedrals, monasteries, abbeys etc.
Commercial architecture, focusing on shops, department stores, offices, merchant houses etc, Industrial architecture, present and former sites of production, old factories, mills, railway stations, warehouses, chimneys etc, domestic architecture, including private homes and local vernacular buildings and Commemorative monuments and statues. National Heritage Week provide opportunities for communities to showcase the buildings they value and have valued in the past, whether they are grand designs or simple functional structures.
We should also recognise the knowledge, skills, and craftsmanship that went into creating our buildings. Many skilled workers contributed to the building process. These difference skills that weave our buildings together can be examined; traditional stone masonry, lime plastering, thatching, blacksmithing and other skills. These craftsmen and women often remain anonymous and easily forgotten. The techniques used in building and decorating have largely stayed the same over time, even with some mechanical improvements. Although these traditional skills are in short supply, they are essential for the conservation of our built heritage.