An international organisation for all those interested in lesser traditional buildings

VAG Winter Conference 2011/12

Where, When and Why? - Themes and Ideas in Vernacular Architecture Studies inspired by J T Smith

Saturday 7 to Sunday 8 January 2012

The aim of the conference was to explore some of the main strands of research into vernacular buildings through a celebration of the pioneering work of J T Smith (and his associates) in these fields. John has always been interested in ideas, and has pressed us to seek answers to the bigger 'why' questions of vernacular architecture. For each topic, we revisited John's work, examined the current state of knowledge, and looked towards the future.

One area in which great progress has been made is that of scientific dating, particularly dendrochronology. Now that the database contains over 2500 items, it is appropriate to stand back and look at the wider picture, revisiting such fundamental questions as how did English carpentry develop. But we cannot yet apply this to most fixtures and fittings, so can we do better than use broad stylistic judgements?

House plans have both regional and temporal characteristics, and in the second session we explored these through a wide range of themes ranging from medieval northern Europe to the Breconshire longhouse, and by revisiting town house development in England and Scotland.

Our concluding session looked at where vernacular architecture research might lead to in the future - both at national level and by local groups and individuals.

We hope to make as many as possible of the conference presentations available below.

Dating of buildings and features

House types in town and country, UK and Europe

The future for vernacular building studies

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