The Scottish Archive of Building Skills is collaboration between Historic Scotland’s Technical Conservation Group, Learn Direct and Build, the Scottish Screen Archive and the School of Scottish Studies. It is an online archive which aims to collate film footage and recorded sound testimony relating to Scotland’s traditional building skills and using this to create a unique resource to aid our understanding of the built environment, and the skills which have created it.
The subject areas covered by the archive, whilst all relating in some way to the building industry, are in fact many and varied. Production methods for traditional building materials are included such as brick making, iron founding, lime burning and timber extraction. Traditional building craft skills are also shown in film and described including thatching, carpentry, stone masonry, slating and brick laying. Finally, construction of a variety of building types is covered in the archive from bridges to blackhouses, schools to pre-fab housing.
Access to the archive is free and available to anyone with an interest in traditional building skills. The potential audiences for such material are wide and varied. Those with a desire to learn traditional building craft skills including in a variety of occupations will find the archive invaluable as a repository of knowledge which may have been lost with the passing of time and modernisation. Those who specify work on traditional buildings may find it helpful when considering how work should be carried out to ensure original appearance and performance is maintained. To social, industrial or economic historians the archive allows a unique insight into traditional methods of manufacture and building.
At present there are two main sources for material. The majority of the film footage is taken from the Scottish Screen Archive, part of the National Library of Scotland. Whilst some of this material has previously been available, much is being seen for the first time outside of the Scottish Screen Archive. The oral testimony comes from the vast collection of such material gathered over the years by the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University. There is, however, a great un-tapped reserve of potential material for the archive, the general public. SABS is currently seeking films or sound clips which show or describe any traditional building skills from the public to add to the archive. In this way it hoped that the archive will continue to grow and expand into an ever more valuable resource.
If you have any film or sound footage which you feel could be included in the archive please get in touch at hs.technicalconservationgroup@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Project Partners
Credits
- Cargo For Ardrossan: Shell Film & Video Unit
- Falkirk: Falkirk Council
- Greenock Plans Ahead: Inverclyde District Council
- Magtaggart and Mickel “Job Starts at Cammo, Oban, Seil and Cuan": Mr Bruce Mickel
- Brickmaking - Mr Alastair Stein
- New Venture from Start to Finish; Up to Standard - Miss Nan Taggart
- Building Club Rooms - Mr Frank Steel
- Steel and Engineering - Firth Rixson Ltd
- Rebuilding Works, November 1965 - Rolls Royce
- Church Hut Tayport - Tayport Parish Church
- Iona We Shall Rebuild, Restoration of Iona Abbey: Iona Community
- Glenboig Clayworkds - Mr W A Tyre
- Locharbriggs Sandstone - Stancliffe Stone
- Restoration of the Church of the Holy Rude 1936-7 - Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling
- Restoration of the Church of the Holy Rude 1936 - Church of Scotland, Mission & Discipleship Council