Recent Events: Cob Building Workshop

A Cob Building workshop took place on Saturday 20th June. Led by practitioner Kate Edwards from Edwards Cob Building, this was the final event in the programme of the Built Heritage Skills Hub project, funded by Historic England.

The session began in the Old Chapel at 9.30 am with an introduction to the overall aim of the wider project, then Kate presented an overview over on the use of cob, adobe and the long history of the use of the local earth building materials, their benefits and challenges.

The group then took a short walk to a nearby cob and thatch barn that had fissures and losses on the inner walls cob walls. The practical session started with looking for local ‘ingredients’, for most cob buildings will be made from material found on site or very near. A test hole was dug to look at the soil layering beneath the ground, reaching the clay subsoil which is needed for making cob.

On a groundsheet the ingredients for a cob mix were laid out: sharp sand, gravel, clay, stones and straw and this was mixed and the ‘Cob dance’ performed to ensure the ingredients were fully broken down. Consistency was judged and small individual ‘bricks’ of cob made by each attendee as samples.

The wall was then inspected, water brushed across it and the first attempts made to fill holes and create a new surface. This activity was continued after a lunch break with a further mix of clay plaster made for application and then a final mix was made with a finer red clay to create a finer surface finish. The satisfaction with making the material, seeing a positive and immediate impact and the physically demanding but pleasurable activity was apparent to all.

The practitioner (as on previous activities) also had their details taken by participants with a view to obtaining quotes for works, demonstrating the additional value of these events to both practitioners and property owners.

As with several events in the programme, attracting the widest possible audience remained a challenge despite promotion through local noticeboards and community Facebook groups, highlighting the ongoing need to explore additional ways of reaching people interested in traditional building skills.