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4 | www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
Soft capping
techniques used at
Smailholm Tower
A
Spring 2012 will f inally see the launchof Knowledge Base, our Conservation
website thats an invaluable resource for
anyone interested in the conservation of the
built heritage. With input from a broad skills
base, the site is packed with information about
our latest projects and research, and also
information about our training grants.Knowledge Base boasts many features
including digital access to our publications,
reports, historic catalogues and practical
guides. It also has a news section and video
content as well as access to lectures via our
webinars, including such subjects as energy
efficiency and traditional building materials.
As a user you will be able to personalise
your home page, bookmark material and
access our forum. Through our new
and improved online shop you canpurchase hard copies of our publications
and access free digital versions for the
majority of them. You will also be able
to purchase tickets for our forthcoming
events and seminars.
We would love to hear your views,so why not sign up on the link below
and leave us a message on the forum
or e-mail us on [email protected].
gov.uk we look forward to hearing from you.
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/conservation
Knowledge Base
IN BRIEF
Autumn 2011 saw the launch ofour two-part Research Report on
Soft Cappings, written by Tom
Morton of Arc Architects. This age-old
technique of protecting masonry has
been the focus of new research given
its attractive properties of being low
Publicationsupdate
Historic Scotland commences
work on the ambitious Rae
Project in spring 2012. This will
digitally record the 345 monuments inthe care of Scottish Ministers, and looked
after by Historic Scotland.This challenging project will produce
highly accurate records of these
Meshed surface
image of Dupplin Cross
monuments that will be invaluable for
the conservation and interpretation of
Scotlands cultural heritage. The project
will also help Scotland maintain its world-leading status in this innovative
technology.
For more information contact Lyn Wilson
Rae Project
Application of blowncellulose insulation
during Historic Scotland
energy efficiency trials
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Historic Scotland | Focus 2012 | 5
The Technical Outreach and Educationteam are looking forward to a busy
year ahead. We have already
scheduled a number of events small scale
seminars, specialist conferences run inpartnership with other organisations and
two-day international events, as well as our
usual outreach and education work and we
will continue to add to our calendar as the
year progresses.
We have dubbed 2012 our Year of Climate
Change. This is reflected in some of theevents already planned, such as the Solid
Wall Insulation Conference in conjunction
with Changeworks on 20th April. We willalso have a one-day seminar on energy
efficiency in traditional buildings
to keep you up to date with development s
in this area, while autumn will seea two-day conference on climate change
taking place at Our Dynamic Earth on10th and 11th September. We hope toattract international speakers and delegates
to this event to drive forward the debate on
climate change and its impact on the built
heritage sector.
As well as the climate change events, we
have a full programme of other publication
launches and conferences. Following onfrom the success of last year (see page 7),
Digidoc will be held on 22 and 23 October
at Surgeons Hall, Edinburgh. This two-day
event will feature international speakers
and showcase what is happening with 3D
laser scanning and related technologyacross a range of media.
For more information on any of the above,
and to book tickets, please consult our website
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/conservation or
email [email protected]
Forthcoming events
IN BRIEF
maintenance and environmentally friendly.
The volumes include the findings of 39 case
studies from across Scotland and are
available to buy or view online from our
website at www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/
conservation. All technical conservation
publications available from HistoricScotland can also be found in the
publications section of this magazine.
The Energy Houseis a follow up to Inform
Houseand will be available from Spring 2012
to either download from our website or to
order from Historic Scotland directly on a
memory stick. This interactive house
highlights areas around the home whichcan be upgraded to improve energy
efficiency in traditional buildings.
As well as more widely understood
treatments for areas such as windows,
it also includes practical applicationsfor recent research into walls and floors.
As always, keep an eye on our websiteto see when it becomes available.
We are also excited to announce our new
series of Short Guides, to be launched in
2012. They will provide practical guidance
on a number of technical areas, and in time
form a comprehensive set of volumes on
traditional material areas. We are, however,
starting the series with publications
that answer our most-asked questions.Look out for further announcements
in the press or on our website.
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This international two-day digital documentation conference brought together someof the top innovators in the field to discuss their wide-ranging research. Technical
Outreach and Education Manager Dorothy Hoskinsoffers us an outline of the event
Last September, Historic Scotland held
an international two-day conference
on digital documentation. A range
of speakers, pioneering in their field, gave
presentations on recent developments in
digital documentation technology and its
many applications.Scotlands First Minister Alex Salmond
opened the event with a keynote
speech emphasising the importance of
documenting the past to help shape the
future. He encouraged further Scottishinnovations in the field by announcing,
It pays for a small country to think big.
Mr Salmond went on to announce that the
next international site to be recorded as
part of the Scottish Ten project will be
the Eastern Qing Tombs in China.
The presentations gave a goodaccount of the growing collaboration
between private and public sectororganisations and reflected the
international range of those participating
in the field, including phase-shift
laser-scanning pioneer Katsushi Ikeuchi,
who travelled from Tokyo.
Among others giving presentations
were Brian Mathews, who introduced the
free photogrammetry package Photofly,Elmer Bol of Alice Labs, who demonstrated
the features of the 3D soft ware Studio
Clouds, John Meneely of Queens University
Belfast and xRez Studios Greg Downing.CyArks Elizabeth Lee ended the conference
with her closing speech.
By way of introduction, a moreinformal roundtable discussion was held
before the conference for speakers, giving
them an opportunity to conduct a
preliminary meeting about the topics to
be addressed over the following t wo days.
Also, an evening social event was held
between the two days of talks, giv ingparticipants the chance to network on a
more informal basis. The event included
cilidh dancing and the premiere of the
Scottish Ten movie Scottish Ten, the Storyso Far.
The conference was a huge success anddelegates, speakers and sponsors are all
looking forward to Digidoc 2012, which
will be hosted in October.
Digidoc 2011
First MinisterAlex Salmond
delivers the
keynote
speech at
Digidoc 2011
IT PAYS FOR A SMALLCOUNTRY TO THINK BIG
ALEX SALMOND,FIRST MINISTER FOR SCOTLAND
IN BRIEF
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SCOTTISH TEN
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The Scottish Ten is an ambitious
five-year programme that sees
Historic Scotland (HS) and theDigital Design Studio (DDS) at
Glasgow School of Art digitally documenting
Scotlands five UNESCO World Heritage Sitesand five international heritage sites in 3D.
Scottish Ten data will be shared with the
world via our US partner CyArks digitalarchive (www.cyark.org). The Centre for
Digital Documentation and Visualisation
LLP, a joint venture bet ween HS and the
DDS, was established in 2010 to deliver the
Scottish Ten.
A BUSY YEAR
As I write this in late 2011, we are at the
half-way point of the Scottish Ten project,
following its inception in April 2009. The
project is now firmly est ablished andfantastic progress has been made this year.
The team has been busy presenting initial
results at events around the world,
engaging local, national and international
audiences with the project. We have
completed fieldwork at two more sites and
a third is currently underway. Ourinternational partnerships continue
to bloom.
In September 2011, we hosted our
popular annual Digital Documentation
conference in Glasgow to high acclaim
(www.digitaldocumentation.co.uk) andmore recently, the Scottish Ten team was
shortlisted in the Science, Engineering
and Technology category at the
UK Civil Service Awards 2011 great
recognition and a great honour for our
project. Here we share more of the
years highlights...
3D AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
In late June and early July 2011, the
team journeyed to the UKs most remote
UNESCO World Heritage Site, St Kilda. The
project was conducted in partnership with
the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), whomanage and conserve the islands. Getting
there was a logistical challenge in itself:it took almost four hours in a small boat
from the western coast of Harris. To reach
the shore, our beloved laser scanners had
OUR SECOND INTERNATIONAL PROJECT
After months of planning, October 2011
saw the team fly to India to document the
breathtaking site of Rani ki Vav in Gujarat,
in partnership with our colleagues at the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Theteam included Justin Barton from CyArk,
who assisted with on-site data
management.
Rani ki Vav, or the Queens Stepwell,
was built around 1050 AD and served as
a communal water source for the areas
royal family. Adorned with some 400 one-metre-high carved sandstone panels
depicting Hindu deities, and seven stepped
terraces leading to the well itself, the site
was only excavated in the 1960s and is
wonderfully preserved at its lower levels.
It is currently on UNESCOs tentative list forWorld Heritage status.
Rani ki Vav provided the team with a two-
fold technical challenge. Firstly, how to
capture the exquisite Hindu sculptures at
the required level of detail. Secondly, the
logistics of recording the interior of the 7
metre diameter, 27 metre deep well, which
was also decorated with incredible carvings.To meet the first of these, we incorporated
a new piece of scan technology in the
form of a portable structured light scanner
to record the sculptures at sub-millimetre
detail. For the second, we designed and
to be transferred in rather choppy waters
from our small boat to an even smaller
dingy a tense moment!The main island of Hirta was inhabited
until 1930 when the remaining population
was evacuated to mainland Scotland.Their homes still remain, as do field systems
and over a thousand examples of cleits
stone-built storage structures used to drysea-birds and peat and to store feathers and
eggs. There are also wonderfully preserved
examples of earlier occupation on the
islands, such as the prehistoric structures
at Gleann Mor. The islands more recent
heritage includes the 1950s Ministry of
Defence base and radar stations. These arestill operational and are run today by
Qinetiq. We were very fortunate to be able
to stay within the islanders 19th-century
cottages during the project, a wonderfully
evocative experience.
With two weeks allocated for the field
capture phase, the Scottish Ten workfocused on the main settlement, Village Bay
on Hirta. Working in teams, we carried out
mid- and long-range terrestrial 3D laser
scanning and high-resolution photography.
For the first t ime in the Scottish Ten, we also
had use of a ver y long-range scanner,typically used in mining to document the
topography of Village Bay. Another Scottish
Ten first was the recording of 3D sound
courtesy of our PhD student, AliceWatterson. This will be used to add an extra
dimension to virtual reconstructions and
immersive 3D experiences.Despite the large areas to cover and
despite the resident Soay sheep using
our scanner tripods as scratching posts,
we managed to document all structures
in Village Bay. Outwith the primary
settlement, we also documented the
Amazons House in Gleann Mor and theradar stations. When complete, we hope
the final data will be of practical use to the
NTS in their ongoing conservation
management of the islands. We also planto use our dimensionally accurate
3D visualisations to promote virtual
remote access, so more people canexperience these spectacular islands at
the edge of the world.
Scanning St Kilda, managed andconserved by National Trust for Scotland
Alex Salmond, First Minister for Scotland,with Chinas Culture Minister
SCOTTISH TEN
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constructed a custom aluminium and
wood truss, onto which we could attach
our scanner, extend it into the centre
of the well, and operate the scanner
remotely via WiFi.
Over the course of two weeks, theScottish Ten team worked to complete
a comprehensive 3D digital survey of
Rani ki Vav. We used various technologies,
each suited to a particular type of site
documentation, including long- and
mid-range terrestrial 3D laser scan systems,
close-range structured light scannersand high-end digital cameras.
With temperatures reaching almost 40C
on most afternoons, we faced technical
difficulties with the equipment overheating
(not to mention the team overheating!).
We found solutions to these minorproblems and checked the integrity of
the scans daily to ensure we collected
geometrically accurate data. In total, we
captured approximately 175 scans with
our terrestrial laser scanners, plus thousands
of photos and sub-mm close-range scans
of the sculptures. We worked closely
with our ASI colleagues ever y day, providingthem with hands-on experience in 3D
surveying. Partnership is a key goal for
the Scottish Ten and we have built a solid
and enduring relationship with our new
friends at ASI.
THE OLD AND NEW TOWNS OF EDINBURGHDigitally preserving an entire city may seem
a daunting task, but the Scottish Ten team
are taking it in their stride. The UNESCO
World Heritage Site in Edinburghincorporates both the Old and New Towns
and both Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood
Palace. To achieve complete 3D coverage,
airborne LiDAR was collected and
developed into a 3D model in early 2011.
This is essentially 3D information captured
from an instrument strapped to the bottomof a plane or helicopter. The team started
augmenting this aerial data with our
ground-based capture systems in autumn2011. Charlotte Square, the Royal Mile and
Calton Hill have been completed. Proving to
be a challenge is less the extent of the siteand more the sheer number of people we
are inadvertently recording in our scans who
need to be digitally removed. Reality
capture will continue in Edinburgh
throughout 2012.
EXPEDITION TO THE FAR EAST
Also this year, our third international site
was announced. In collaboration with the
Chinese Government, our team will digitally
document the Eastern Qing Tombs, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site some 125km
north of Beijing. The tombs were
constructed around 1750 and are the most
intact and best preserved funerary complexin China, comprising a city of mausoleums
housing five emperors and fifteen
empresses. Two reconnaissance
explorations this year have cemented the
project partnership between the Scottishand Chinese governments, identified the
site and explored logistical and technical
issues. As the entire site covers 80km2, we
may have to focus on particularly important
tombs. We anticipate the fieldwork team
will be on site in China in Autumn 2012.
Visit www.scottishten.orgFollow us on Twitter@ScottishTen
For pictures of the team and their projectswww.flickr.com/photos/historicscotlandSee videos and animations at the officialHistoric Scotland YouTube channelyoutube.com/user/historicscotlandtvand vimeo.com/29702463
Section through the3D pointcloud data
from Rani ki Vav
Chinas Qing Tombs
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The science team within the
Conservation Directorate ofHistoric Scotland support,
commission and manage research
into traditional materials. This builds uponthe work of our predecessor departments,
Technical Conservation Group and TCRE,
which published extensive research reports
into a variety of areas.
In 2009, Historic Scotland produced
its first Technical and Scientific ResearchStrategy, which outlined the direction of
our research for future years. Here, I will
describe three of our most recent projects,
each of them examining a different, but
equally important, material.
Working with Dr Paul Adderley at the
University of Stirling, we are developingan evidence-based approach to the
deterioration and conservation of
vernacular buildings constructed with earth
materials. At present, work being carried out
is based upon anecdotal evidence and the
knowledge of practitioners. The goal of this
project is to marry practitioner knowledgeto studies of the material properties.
To study earth from buildings, two main
scientific techniques are being used. Firstly,
samples are taken from a building, sectionedthinly and looked at under a microscope.
This technique thin sectionmicromorphology is commonly used in
the analysis of soils. It allows for microscopic
features to be observed and the material to
be characterised. Investigations from
buildings in Scotland have so far revealed a
wide variety of fabrics and organic additions.
The second technique being trialledis a novel dating technique called
luminescence. Essentially, silicates in the
earth capture light from the sun. This
captured light can be measured using novel
apparatus, and this gives an indication ofwhen the earth last observed light. If
the sample is taken from, say, the centreof a wall, then the earth would have last
observed light at the time of construction.
A second important material that we are
examining closely is timber in traditional
buildings. Timber has been used as aprimary building material throughout
Scotlands history. As a material, it is
vulnerable to loss through fungal attack
and slow chemical degradation. We areworking with Dr Mike Jarvis at the University
of Glasgow to understand the behaviour of
historic timber better.
When new and carefully selected, wood is
a remarkably high-performance material. Its
mechanical properties are based on
cellulose units called microfibrils threenanometres in diameter and several microns
in length, with tensile strength comparable
to steel. Cellulose microfibrils
make up half the mass of wood.
The mechanical properties of
wood are dependent on the
orientation of the cellulosemicrofibrils (microfibril angle)
and the density of the wood.
If part of a timber beam is
replaced by wood of the same
species but with different
microfibril angle, swelling and shrinkagewith changing humidity can lead to failure
at the interface between old and new or,
worse, differential movement between thesections of timber making up the repaired
composite beam can create internal stress
that may distort the whole structure. It is
necessary, therefore, to go beyond the ideaof replace oak with oak. The ideal would
be to measure the mechanical
characteristics of a timber structural
member in situand then select a piece of
new timber matching these characteristics.
In part this may be achieved through a
traditional understanding of how timberproperties depend on the way in which the
tree has grown, but timber built into
structures also changes with age on acentennial scale, and as yet there is little
understanding of these changes.
A three-year project was started inNovember 2011 to address these issues.
The principal outcome of this project will be
Conservation andtraditional materials
a detailed, science-based platform for
guiding the selection of new timber torepair historic buildings.
The third material we are examining is
wrought iron. Its upkeep offers technicalchallenges that must be solved within the
philosophy of conservation. Designing a
protective coating system for heavily
corroded ferrous metal surfaces is difficult.
Practitioners seek a treatment with
predictable performance and long recoatingintervals. To address this goal it is necessary
to examine incrementally treatment
properties from which the design of an
optimum treatment can be developed. This
research project, with David
Watkinson at Cardiff University,
is examining surfacepreparation methods for
corroded wrought iron.
Wrought iron samples are
treated with paint removal/
surface cleaning techniques,
followed by monitoring the
corrosion rate in a controlledaggressive relative humidity to simulate
atmospheric corrosion. Each sample is then
painted by a single paint system and the
corrosion rate monitored. The appearanceof cleaned and painted surfaces are then
assessed by electron microscopy. The studywill identify the influence of the selected
surface preparation methods on the
corrosion rate of corroded wrought iron.
It will also provide a comparative
assessment of these methods and assess
their performance with a specified coating.
The goal of this project is to produce anevidence-based protocol for the selection of
a coating system for protecting outdoors
cast and wrought historic ferrous metals.
With each of these projects we are
undertaking rigorous scientificexaminations of traditional materials, with a
view to increasing our understanding of theeffects of conservation methods on their
long term survival. When completed and
reviewed, the results will be published.
Senior Conservation Scientist Dr Craig Kennedyoutlines his recent inquiries intothe conservation of traditional materials
WHEN NEW ANDCAREFULLY
SELECTED, WOODIS A HIGH-
PERFORMANCEMATERIAL
MATERIALS
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BACKGROUND
Biggar Gasworks dates back to the mid 19th
century, in the days when coal was used toproduce gas for towns across Scotland.
A major feature of the Edwardian and
Victorian works is its two gasometers
large storage containers to hold the
manufactured gas. The Victorian
gasometers were constructed in two parts:the well, a water-filled base deeply sunk
into the ground, and the bell, a cylindrical
container that floats with the latter.
The manufactured gas was fed throughseveral metres of water into the base of the
container. As the amount of gas increased in
the castor-stabilised container, it graduallyrose to make room for the extra capacity.
Being very heavy, the riveted steel-plated
rising vessel, under the force of gravity, kept
the gas under a constant pressure, pushing
it into the local grid to feed the towns
homes with a steady f lame. Meanwhile,
rainwater would run off the large bell to
be naturally recycled, topping up thewater in the cast iron caisson well, with any
excess draining into the adjacent burn.
The gasworks came into our care when
it closed over 30 years ago, following the
introduction of natural gas. For display,
the rising vessels of the disused gasometers
were set in full capacity position by airpumped into the container, and once
raised, supported by hefty steel brackets
welded to the wells. For several decades
the well-maintained exterior fabric of the
gasholders was diligently repainted.
With work underway at the only preserved gasworks in Scotland,Historic Scotland District Architect Ian Lambietakes us throughthe details of the conservation
Biggar Gasworks
large gasholder
CONSERVATION
Workinginside the gascontainers
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inhibit future corrosion. Considerable
planning and preparation has been
undertaken to address the unusualworking environment of the gasometers.
To successfully blast, repair and paint
the metalwork requires a dry heated
environment, so a fully weather-clad
scaffolding has been erected to protect
the exterior of the gasholder. To access
the interior safely also involves overcomingthe major challenges of a water-filled,
part-subterranean space that is potentially
harbouring dangerous chemicals and gasresidues. Luckily we learned valuable lessons
from earlier successful refurbishments of
the small gasholder in 2008, and with this inmind, personal protective equipment and
rescue measures were devised.
WHATS THE PROBLEM?
An internal inspection of one of the 6m-tall
gas storage containers showed that it wastime for a substantial programme of work
to remove rust and apply special protective
paint to inhibit future corrosion. Time
had taken its toll: the cast iron and steel
surfaces of the interior had lost their
protective tar paint finish and were rust-pitted and holed. Corrosion was found to
be particularly extensive at the now fixed
waterline of the rising vessels, weakening
the structure at the bases of the bells.
OUTCOME
A substantial programme of conservation
work is underway to remove rust, repair the
metal and apply special protective paint to
Also, we discovered there, the cast iron
base of the well had fractured and displaced
under the great pressure exerted by the highwater table causing persistent flooding.
We countered the problem by installing
a reversible concrete ballast floor with
drainage layer below and sumps to allow
constant pumping, thus maintaining a dry
environment in the gasholder, necessary forblasting and painting. A similar solution wasanticipated as necessary for the deeper well
of the large gasholder, and initial survey by
roped access confirmed that the cast iron
panels of the well caisson were indeed
fractured and leaking.
Laboratory tests have been carried out toensure the sludge deposits and water with
the caisson were safe and the ballast f loor
and drainage sumps have been laid. We are
now on course to safely erect scaffold and
carry out the conservation work. Initial
inspection is ongoing with a specialist
blacksmith to determine a repair strategyfor the riveted sheet cladding of the bell.
In addition to rust removal and painting,
we will also introduce a cathodic protection
system. This will involve attaching zinc
bars that will preferentially corrode, rather
than the historic steel and the cast iron of
the gasometer. This should ensure thefuture preservation of these increasingly
unique structures.
The results from a ground investigation
carried out to determine soil conditions,
water table level and any contamination of
the ground, allowed Historic Scotlandengineers to check for any potential adverse
effects on the tank when it was emptied.
A key consideration was that the base of
the tank was 3 metres below the water
table, and although the engineers were
confident the tank would not float, it was
decided that 50 cubic metres of gravelwould be used as a quick way of put ting
weight on to the base of the tank as it
was emptied. Foamed concrete has been
pumped into the base of the tank over the
gravel layer to provide some further ballast.
It was felt that the water pressure on the
base might pose a risk if the cast iron panelswere badly cracked. Methods of reducing
this pressure were examined. However,
the preferred strategy of ground dewatering
had to be discounted when it was found
that the groundwater was not clean
enough to pump into the adjacent burn.
Inspection of the base confirmed thatit was of a similar bolted cast iron panel
construction as the small glassholder.
Also, cracks similar to those on the
small gasometer base were found at an
intersecting joint uncovered for the
inspection, justifying the cautious approach
adopted when emptying the tank.The next stage is to get the internal
and external scaf fold in place to allow
a closer examination of the condition
of the metalwork and agree the extent
of the repairs.
TANK TRIVIA
The large gasometer tank is 9.5 metres indiameter with an overall depth of 6.4
metres. The base and the lower part of the
tank are made up of cast iron panels and
sunk 4 metres into the ground. The upper
part of the tank is made up of riveted steel
panels. The gas bell, made up of riveted steel
panels on an raised position, extends some8.5 metres above ground level.
CONSERVATION
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Faced with such a large and
diverse collection as the oneat Trinity House, Collections Unit
involved multiple conservation
specialists to treat the wide range of objects,
which included complex navigational
instruments, intricate ship models and
fragile paintings, books and documents.The first stage of this programme involved
assessing the condition of all the objects in
the collection to identify and prioritise what
needed to be done. Over 69 per cent of the
collection needed essential conservation
and 31 per cent requiring remedial cleaning.
With the completion of the overallcollection assessment, the next stage was
to roll out a programme of conservation.
A significant part of this has involved the
treatment of oil paintings undertaken by Ailsa
Murray and Damiana Magris, HistoricScotlands Easel Painting Conservators. For
Ailsa and Damiana this is a long term project;
over the last four years they have completed
14 out of the 47 paintings. Each painting
is taken to the specialists studio at the
Conservation Centre in Edinburgh where
they are analysed to determine theappropriate course of action, such as
cleaning and consolidation.
An example of how our conservators work
with a painting can be seen through thepictures below. The frames in which the
Unveilingthe past
When Trinity House of Leith came into the care of HistoricScotland in 2005, a major programme was launched to
conserve and care for its extraordinary collection of over1,500 maritime objects, paintings and furniture
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
1The portrait of Mary
Queen of Scots,
painted after her death,is representative of
conservation work carried out
by our team of conservators.
Once in the studio, the
painting is examined to
assess the condition and the
technique used by the artist.All the information is
recorded and integrated to
the historical research. The
investigation includes non-
destructive analysis (UV light
illumination, Multi Spectra
Analysis investigation IR transmitted light illumination,
XRF) and destructive analysis
(cross-sections, polarised
microscope investigation,
micro-chemical spot test).
CONSERVATION
REMOVING THE VARNISH
2Generally speaking,
a painting might
require the stabilisation of
the paint layers and/or the
support. Once the painting
is secured the cleaningtest can be carried out.
Depending on the
substance that needs to be
removed (dirt surface orvarnish) different
approaches can be followed
(dry cleaning, water basedor solvent based cleaning).
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PROTECTIVE BACKING
3Losses are filled
and the paint layer
reintegrated using
reversible colours before
the application of the final
varnish, if this has beenremoved. A flexible backing
,consisting of an aluminium
barrier foil with polyester
non-woven lining, isapplied onto the back of
the paintings to protect
them from damp andmould from the wall.
CONSERVATION
easels are displayed also undergo
work to get the whole painting backto its former glory, a task undertaken
by our Technical Conservation
Officer Alan Simpson. Once the work
is completed in the studio, the
paintings are then hung back in their
original location.Rob Thomson, preventive
conservator, who has been
monitoring temperature
and relative humidity at TrinityHouse, has worked with Nira
Ponniah and Colin Hay to install a
conservation heating system. Thisreplaced a night storage heating
system that created large
fluctuations in temperature and
humidity. The stable conditions are
maintained throughout the year for
the benefit of the whole collection.
In addition to this, blinds andwindow films for excluding
ultraviolet light have been used to
minimise the harmful effect of light
on objects and paintings.
Together with the regular
housekeeping carried out by Judith
Devereaux and Adam Gorysz(Collections Unit), based at Trinity
House, it is hoped that these
measures will help preserve this
rich and significant collection for
future visitors.
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OTHER SPECIALISTS THAT HAVE
CONTRIBUTED TO THE PROJECT:
Sarah Gerrish, working on
the furniture, has focused on
establishing, strengthening and
cleaning the furniture in thecollection. A set of 36 late-18th-
century mahogany chairs
made by William Trotter have
now been fully treated and arenow back on display.
Helen Creasy from the Scottish
Conservation Studio, specialising
on paper, has concentrated on
treating framed works on
paper throughout the house.These were taken out of
their mount and treated for
staining, tears, cockling and
losses, then reframed using
archival materials to separate
works from direct contact with
acidic materials and external dirt.
Caroline Scharfenberg,specialising in book conservation,
has started work on a
small selection of 18th- and
19th-century books from over400 references requiring urgent
conservation. These included
works with unstable bindings,
staining and tears.
Pieta Greaves and Emily
Yates, from AOC (Scotland),
concentrated on treating
the corroded and tarnished
metal objects and the natural
history specimens. These
included a sextant and quadrantfrom Leith Nautical College,
Trinity House medallions, an
incense burner, trade tokens and
a bowling trophy. Once cleaned
these items were coated with
microcrystalline wax to
protect them from oxidising
when placed back on open
display. The scrimshaw included a
penguin carved from a sperm
whale tooth. This was re-gluedremoving a badly stained joint.
Trinity House is open for
visitors all year round, 10am
to 3.30pm (except weekendsand Christmas and New
Year holidays). To find outmore information or to
book a visit, please go to
www.trinityhouseleith.org.uk
CONSERVATION
THE FINISHED PAINTING,
RESPLENDENT ONCE MORE
4A new hanging system
(stainless steel cables
with adjustable self-lockinghooks) has been adopted for
an easier removal of the
paintings from the wall incase of emergency.
BEFORE AFTER
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The development of a National
Conservation Centre, announced
last year, demonstrates the
Scottish Governmentscommitment to support and develop the
skills required by the traditional building
sectors. The National Conservation Centrewill in fact bring together two existing
facilities and two new ones under one
umbrella.
Our highly-regarded masonry trainingfacility at Elgin, will continue to be
developed and form the teaching model for
the NCC at Forth Valley College. Located in
two brand new masonry workshops, NCC
at Forth Valley College will be integrated
into the Stirling Campus of Forth ValleyCollege, opening in August 2012, and as
with Elgin, will provide the highest quality
training for our stonemasons. The exis ting
Applied Conservation facility in Edinburgh
will continue to focus on the skills required
for applied conservation. NCC at Forthside,
Stirling, will become the hub for all technicaltraining within Historic Scotland and will be
the new home for Heritage Science, Digital
Scanning, Traditional Skills Training and
Education and Outreach, which will open
in 2015.
As well as being a hub for our own training,
NCC at Forthside also gives Historic Scotlandthe opportunity to showcase and impart its
specialist knowledge and skills to the broader
sector and wider public. As well as havingscience labs and workshops, the centre will
include seminar rooms, a small lecture
theatre and a demonstration workshop thatwill enable us to offer more outreach and
hands-on training events. The
centre will be open to the
public, with the opportunity to
visit exhibitions, acquire
technical literature, view
conservation work in progressand experiments being
monitored, or chat to a resident
craftsperson demonstrating
their skill in the workshop.In answer to the question why now?,
we can turn to the numerous reports that
have been produced in recent years thatconsistently identify both low quality and
gaps in the traditional skills sec tor, and
a need to provide quality training and
develop opportunities for both
craft and professionaldisciplines. These are the issues
that the NCC facilities will
address. Also, as the largest
employer in the technical
conservation sector in the UK,
Historic Scotland has an
ongoing need to educate and
train its technical staff,including craft apprentices, giving them the
best training possible.
Of course, we realise that these efforts
alone will not be suff icient. Therefore, we
will continue to support the development
of traditional skills training and
conservation expertise across Scotland,
through a network of part nerships with
charitable providers and the further and
higher education sectors. However, we will
lead the way with the creation of theNational Conservation Centre, bringing
under one banner for the first time the key
areas of Conservation Science, Applied
Conservation, Digital Survey, Traditional
Building Crafts and Education andOutreach. This will provide a strong centralnational resource, combining the
knowledge, expertise and physical skills
that we need to maintain and enhance the
historic environment.
Supporting
conservation skillsFollowing the announcement this year of two new Historic Scotland facilities, Headof Traditional Skills and Materials Colin Tennantoutlines the proposed developments
Signing the agreement between Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop (centre), Director of
Conservation David Mitchell and Principal of the Forth Valley College Linda McKay
THE NCC IS A VITALPART OF THE
SCOTTISHGOVERNMENTS
TRADITIONALSKILLS STRATEGY
TRADITIONAL SKILLS
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Palace of
Holyroodhousegate repairs
HISTORY
Between 1822 and 1831, Robert Reid
erected decorative railings enclosing
small gardens to the south and east of thepalace. In 1858, Robert Matheson, Chief
Architect, re-organised the gardens, opening
up roads to the north and south. The 1831cast iron railings were relocated to the west
of the gardens to line the north and south
approach roads, and formal gateways, with
ornamental gate-piers topped with gas-
lanterns supplied from the recently opened
gas-works at New Street, marked the
entrances to Holyrood Park.When Edward VII died on 6 May
1910, moves to create a memorial led to
speculative designs being produced by
Robert Lorimer and Hippolyte Blanc.
The design competition was eventually
won by Robert John MacBeth, but hisdeath in 1912 meant the designs of
Sir George Washington Browne were
selected. Detailed drawings were
produced in 1914 but the outbreak of
World War I delayed construction.
Work began on the memorial in 1920.
The gates and railings designed bySir George Washington Brown were
constructed by the London firm J.
Starkie-Gardner Ltd Metalworker to King
Edward VII although the larger structuralsections were cast at the Skinningrove Iron
Works in North Yorkshire. The completed
memorial was unveiled by George V on 10October 1922.
REPAIR WORKS
Over the years numerous minor repairs
have been made to the gates and railings.
Small decayed or detached sections havebeen repaired and reattached either by
Historic Scotlands blacksmiths or specialist
metalwork contractors. The only extensiverefurbishment was carried out between
1956 and 1960 by the metalworking f irm
Thomas Hadden of Edinburgh.
The current programme of repairs was
prompted by the number of minor repairs
needed both to the fine detail of the gates
(in danger of becoming lost), and to the gatelocks and hinge mechanisms. The risk was
that, were larger sections of the gates to
detach, they could cause injury to the public
or staff. In 2004, David Mitchells initial
survey identif ied several areas of concern.
Repair work started on the northapproach gate in 2005, following
detachment of some decorative features
from one of the gates, but this was cut short
when it proved impossible to remove the
overthrow above the gate due to significant
amounts of rust around the bolts. It was
apparent that major repairs were required,and limited stabilisation work was
completed while a programme of more
thorough repairs was developed.
Two car crashes, the f irst in May 2005 anda second in January 2006, seriously damaged
the western leaf of the south approach gate
and made repairs to this gate crit ical.Heritage Engineering in 2006 lifted
The gates at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh haveundergone some extensive conservation and repairs. Architect
Nira Ponniahgives us a detailed outline of recent improvements
the main gate leafs off their hinges and
repaired the twisted gate in their workshop
by re-welding the joints and straighteningthe gate in a jig of hydraulic jacks.
The rust and paint coatings were removedand repairs made to stabilise the gates.
Loose decorative features were reattached
and the gates repainted and re-hung.
Damaged stonework was indented by
Damage from car crash Repairs carried out on details Analysis of the gate using a portable XRF
CONSERVATION
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Historic Scotlands masons and four bollards
were erected to protect the gates from
further vehicle impact.In 2008, work moved on to the Abbey
Strand gates which were repaired by CharlesLaing & Sons. As the most often used gates,
these had problems with opening
mechanism as well as the corrosion seen
elsewhere. As before, the main gates and
overthrow were lifted out of position and
removed to their workshops for repair and
repainting. The side gates were repaired
in situ by removing corrosion and
re-painting. Wear on the upper hingesand the pintles and gudgeons (pins and
bearings) of the lower hinges was made
good by fitting shoes to the bearings
and replacing the pintles
altogether. The gate locks were
also dismantled and rebuilt.When the paint finishes
were stripped the decorative
features of the gates were
found to be constructed
from a variety of materials.
The gates themselves were a
mix of wrought and cast iron, and
the stags head over the Abbey Strandgate was bronze. Brass had been used
for various sculpted medallions.
Following repair and repainting in
Charles Laings workshop the gate
was reinstated on site.
Gates at thePalace of
Holyroodhouse
Repainting at the workshop
CONSERVATION
Repairs to the north approach gates
are currently being carried out by Eura
Conservation Ltd. The gate leafs,overthrows and finials were transported
to the contractors workshop in Telfordfor repair and repainting. The side panels
to the gates were repaired in situ, and
existing paint finishes removed and
repainted on site.
Analysis of the gatematerials was carried out
by Historic Scotlands
Conservation Group using
a portable XRF instrument.
Where repouss work is missing
or extensively corroded and
structurally unsound, andwhere sufficient evidence exists,
replacements are to be fabricated on a like-for-like basis and mechanically fixed. It is
anticipated that following repair and
repainting the gates, overthrows and finials
will be reinstated around mid to lateFebruary 2012.
OVER THE YEARSNUMEROUS
MINOR REPAIRSHAVE BEEN MADE
TO THE GATESAND RAILINGS
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In a drive towards a low carbon
economy, the Scottish Governmenthas set ambitious climate change
targets: to slash Scotlands carbon
emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, with an
interim target of a 42 per cent reduction by
2020. These targets present Scotland with
significant economic opportunities, as well
as challenges.
As an agency of the Scottish Government,Historic Scotland has statutory obligation
to significantly reduce its impact on our
environment and ensure the sustainable
future of our built heritage for generations
to come. With the publication of our Carbon
Management Plan in June 2011, HistoricScotland has made a public commitment to
reduce its carbon emissions by 25 per cent of
2008-09 levels by April 2015. In order to meet
this task, we are introducing an exciting new
industry requirement Carbon Management
and Accounting.
WHAT WE CURRENTLY MEASUREAt present, Historic Scotland is focussed onour two primary sources of energy; electricity
and gas. As this makes up the majority of our
greenhouse gas emissions, tackling these
areas will have a major impact in meeting
our reduction targets. We also record other,
less used, forms of fuel (heating oil, LPG and
diesel) and will be incorporating these intoour figures very soon.
WHAT WE WILL MEASURE IN FUTURE
In order to provide a complete picture of
our carbon emissions and accurately reporton these, we are currently looking to broaden
our scope to include water, waste, traveland procurement. However, due to the
challenging nature of these topics, the
complexity and sensitivity of our sites and
the vast size of the Historic Scotland estate,
this is a great challenge. To meet this, we areworking with similar organisations to share
experiences in implementing our Carbon
Management Plan.
BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT
The installation of smart meters throughout
the estate has greatly improved our ability to
monitor energy consumption, but this must
be accompanied by efficient methods ofrecording and monitoring. Other work carried
out by the Climate Change team has providedus with an ideal opportunity to improve our
business processes, such as how we manage
our vehicle fleet, how we monitor travel
outwith the agency and how we record
fuel consumption and costing. These
improvements not only allow us to
effectively and accurately measure ourcarbon reduction, but play a key part in wider
sustainability issues and business efficiency.
CORPORATE PERFORMANCE
Historic Scotland is now required to produce
annual carbon accounts, and these provide awelcome opportunity to review performance
against our Carbon Management Plan,
including measuring progress, targeting
key areas and setting clear goals.In common with many large public and
private sector organisations, Historic
Scotland is mandated to participate in the
Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC)
Energy Efficiency Scheme. CRC asks
participants to measure and report carbon
emissions annually, according to a specific setof rules. From 2012 onwards, organisations
will be required to buy carbon allowances
from government annually to cover theiremissions from the previous year. Effectively,
this constitutes a carbon tax. Under CRC, an
organisation that can lower its emissions can
also lower its costs, delivering significantenvironmental and operational benefits.
Carbon management
and benchmarkingIn response to the Climate Change Act, Historic Scotland has set out to reduce carbon emissions.Carbon Manager Scott Bradysets out what needs to be done across the organisation
We are changing thelighting in our properties
to use more energyefficient light bulbs
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As part of Historic Scotlands drive
to reduce carbon emissions
across our estate in line with
our Carbon Management Plan,we are working hard on our three-step
approach to:
1. Reduce our energy demand
2. Adapt our buildings
3. Diversify our energy supply
Of the 345 Properties in Care, 177 have
an energy requirement, yet just 11 of thosesites account for almost 70 per cent of our
carbon emissions. Almost 90 per cent of
our carbon emissions are from operating
our buildings. The biggest user of energyin our buildings is heating (typically 80-
90 per cent), followed by lighting
(typically 15-20 per cent). By initially
focusing on heating upgrade projects
at our highest energy using sites we
hope to have the maximum impact inreducing our energy demand.
Live projects this year include the
replacement of ageing or inefficient
boilers, upgrades of boiler controls,
boiler sequencing controls and
upgrades of heating distribution
systems at several properties includingEdinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Iona
Abbey and Dunblane Cathedral.
We are also rationalising our heating
control systems at many sites. By setting
controls in line with how each of the
buildings are used and occupied it
should help us make considerable savings.The requirements of a heating system
and the sophistication of controls vary
immensely across the estate those of a
cathedral are significantly different to
those of a modern visitor centre, a regional
office, a toilet block or a gardeners store.Upgrades of local heating controls, and
new installations and upgrades of Building
Management Systems (BMS), are being
progressed at nine sites across the countrywhere they will have the most impact.
At several properties we are adopting
a system where we can control theheating using temperature and
humidity controls to ensure optimum
environmental conditions for particular
areas with sensitive historic fabric,
interiors or collections.
By zoning the heating distribution
systems it is possible to controldifferent areas in different ways;
for example, at Argylls Lodgings one
of the presented rooms contains delicate
painted timber panelling. This space is
controlled to conservation level heating,
whereas the office areas in the same
building are controlled to a comfortconditions setting.
The replacement of inefficient lamps
and light fitt ings is also being completed
across the estate. This should have a
significant impact on our electricity
consumption, which is more carbon heavythan gas or oil. Glasgow Cathedral has been
relamped using over 500 LED lamps. The
savings to be gained from such a project
are not simply direct energy savings. The
increased lamp life means the maintenance
costs of erecting a scaffold to replace
lamps are reduced.Ongoing building adaption projects
include insulation, installation of
secondary glazing and draught-proofing
across our estate, again starting withappropriate areas in the highest energy
using sites.The installation of smart meters across
our estate last year has allowed us to more
accurately record our existing energy
usage and monitor the impact of any
improvements to systems, fabric or
behaviour at our sites. This monitoring
is critical to staff engagement on siteand will help us identify issues and
generate discussions to plan future
behavioural and physical solutions.
We are also looking at diversifying
our energy supply through potential
renewables projects at appropriate sites.
We are currently assessing the potentialcontribution such installations could
provide to the energy mix at various sites,
and the physical impact on the historic
fabric and the visual setting of the
monuments in our care.
Reducing carbon emissionsClimate Change ArchitectJoann Russelloutlines a number of the projectsdesigned to tackle emissions at some of Historic Scotlands properties
This year well be upgrading
boilers at properties including
Edinburgh Castle
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Climate changepredictionsWith shifts in seasons, and more greenhouse gases recorded inthe Earths atmosphere than ever before, scientists have beenable to link climate change to the Industrial Revolution. Senior
Conservation Scientist Craig Kennedyexamines Scotlands future
The climate of the Earth has
changed drastically over the last
two million years. We have
historical evidence of ice ages and
periods where the climate has heated, and
this appears to have happened naturally on a
long-term cyclical basis. Before the industrialera, numerous events could have affected
climate, including changes in the Earths
orbit around the sun, volcanic eruptions and
changes in the suns intensity.Research over the past few decades has,
however, uncovered another type of climate
change altogether anthropological, orman-made climate change. The evidence
for this is clear: since the industrial era began
towards the end of the 18th century, the
level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
has been rising at an exponential rate.They are now at a level higher than ever
before. Greenhouse gases include water
vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and
carbon dioxide. The level of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere has gone from 280 parts
per million in the pre-industrial era to
390 parts per million today, and is still
rising rapidly. Never in the history of theplanet has atmospheric carbon dioxide
levels been so high.
The greenhouse effect of these gases
means that heat taken in to the Earths
atmosphere from the sun cannot leave as
easily as before, and as a result the Earth
is heating up.
In the UK we have already seen the
climate beginning to change as a result of
man-made climate change. The growing
season the period each year when plantsgrow has been extending since 1980,
with spring beginning earlier. The summer
of 2006 was the longest on record, with
the hottest month ( July) and a record
temperature for September. 2010 was thecoldest winter since 1986, and December2010 was the coldest month since 1890.
The sea level at Aberdeen has risen in the
past two decades, being consistently 60mm
higher than the baseline set in 1920.
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Between 2006-2008 sea levels were higher
than the 1920 level by more than 100mm.
Knowing that the Earth is heating up has
led to speculation as to the effects of climate
change, and a desire to predict more
accurately what the future climate
conditions on both a planetary andregional scale might be.
In the UK, the Hadley Centre for Climate
Prediction and Research has, since 1990,
developed sophisticated computer modelsto predict how the climate of the country
will continue to change over the course of
the 21st century. Over the years the modelsproduced by the Hadley Centre have evolved
to include more regional predictions, and to
give some notion of the probability of their
predictions coming to fruition.
The latest predictions UKCIP09 werereleased in 2009. Broadly speaking, the
predicted change of climate fell under three
categories: low, medium and high levels of
greenhouse gas emissions. We do not know
the level of greenhouse gases that will be
emitted over the course of the next few
decades, and so these climate predictions
attempt to cover all eventualities.In Scotland, the predictions state that we
will experience hotter, drier summers and
warmer, wetter winters. The level of emissions
will dictate the severity of the change. For
instance, under a low emissions scenario,
the central estimate for annual mean
temperature increase is 2-3 C across Scotland
by the 2080s. The same estimate under a high
emissions scenario is an increase of 3-4C.
In terms of winter rainfall levels, under a low
emissions future the west coast of Scotlandcan expect to experience a 40-50 per cent
increase; with high emissions this value is
50-60 per cent. This does not mean that we
will not experience cold winters in future, or
wet days in summer. What is predicted arechanges to the average climate conditionsthat we have experienced in the past. Only
by reducing our emissions of greenhouse
gases can we mitigate the changes that will
be seen in our climate in the future.
TEMPERATURE
Temperatures are estimated to rise by 2-3 C in a low emission scenario
and 3-4C under high emissions.
PRECIPITATIONUnder a low emissions future the west coast of Scotland can expect to experiencea 40-50 per cent increase; with high emissions this value is 50-60 per cent
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.01 10.0
CHANGE IN MEAN TEMPERATURE (DEG C)
-70 -50 -30 -10 0 10 30 50 70CHANGE IN PRECIPITATION (%)
HIGH
EMISSION
SCENARIO
LOW
EMISSION
SCENARIO
HIGH
EMISSION
SCENARIO
LOW
EMISSION
SCENARIO
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WASTE MONITORING
Historic Scotlands waste management ismonitored and assessed as part of the
Green Tourism Business Scheme. We have
68 participating sites, 35 of which have
achieved a gold award and 33 silver. While
this is a strong performance, there are
opportunities to fur ther improve.
Waste accounts for 5 per cent of HistoricScotlands overall carbon footprint within
the Carbon Management Plan (CMP), and
in order to meet CMP targets in 2015
we are working towards establishing
an eff icient reporting system for waste
and recycling levels across the estate.
This activity is not without its challenges we have a broad-ranging
estate of properties, and waste
pick-up in rural locations can
be an issue. We contract a
number of different waste
management providers,depending on what is most
cost effective and appropriate
for sites. To deliver the greatest
impact, we propose to begin by targeting
our top four waste-producing sites namelyLongmore House and Edinburgh, Stirling
and Urquhart castles before turning ourattention to the rest of the estate.
Historic Scotlands Climate Change team
are working closely with the Procurement
team and regional works managers across
Scotland to establish the number of waste
pick-ups, t ypes of waste being collected
and recycling rates, all with the aim ofminimising residual waste. This is a work
in progress, and the next s tep will be
to monitor volumes of waste in each
location, working closely with our waste
management provider to deliver moredetailed reports. We will also seek advicefrom other public bodies on the best
methods for reporting waste, as well as
looking at opportunities to introduce
visitor recycling at our sites.
TRAVEL MONITORING
Travel accounts for 7 per cent of HistoricScotlands carbon footprint, and part of
our ongoing monitoring includes the
development of an efficient reporting
system for business travel. We believe that
by empowering our staff we can deliver real
improvements. We are currently producing
a travel hierarchy detailing the carbonintensity of various methods of transport,
as well as a green travel policy highlighting
how we are currently performing and
what we hope to achieve by 2015. This is
supported by a new travel management
contract with Expotel a one-stop shop for
travel arrangements which allows us tobetter plan our journeys.
A key area of focus is our fleet
of 118 vehicles, many of which
do not currently meet the EU
guidelines of 120g/km CO2
emissions for cars or 175g/kmfor vans. This will be factored
into all new purchasing
decisions. In the meantime,
we will support staff to choose our most
efficient vehicles by producing corporateguidance on the use of fleet vehicles and by
creating regional league tables based onemission levels. Stirling Castle and Fort
George have taken a step forward with the
recent purchase of electric vans for use
within the grounds of these sites.
Historic Scotland is also working with
the Scottish Government to gain a better
picture of emissions from our hire cars.Carbon emission levels for each car will now
be noted on our billing information, and we
aim to limit the hire of cars with an engine
size of 1.6 litre or above to instances where
loads are being transported. Our providerdoes not have many hybrid cards available,but it does offer diesel cars which meet
EU emissions requirements. Staff will be
encouraged to choose these vehicles
wherever possible and to use websites such
A sustainableway forwardWith aspirations to make our environment habitable for futuregenerations, Sustainability Officer Eleanor Mitchelland EnergyManager Audrey Tullydiscuss the changes we can make
BY EMPOWERINGOUR STAFF
WE CANDELIVER
REALIMPROVEMENTS
Stirling Castle is one ofHistoric Scotlands topfour waste-producing sites
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as Transport Scotland to help them factor
carbon into their transport choices.
Next to energy use in our buildings, wasteand travel have the most significant impact
on Historic Scotlands carbon footprint, and
we are committed to addressing both areas.
At less than 1 per cent of our carbon
footprint, water is not yet a key area of
focus, but we will make steps to improveour water monitoring by fitting meters in
2012/13 (see left).
PROCUREMENT AND ENGAGEMENT
The Climate Change team is working withprocurement to develop sustainability
checklists for purchasing, which will act
as a staff guide containing practical advice
and considerations when placing orders.
These checklists will be made easily
accessible via our intranet. We have alreadycompleted our first checklist for stationery
ordering in tandem with reducing both
frequency of deliveries and minimumvalue of orders to help reduce indirect
emissions (transportation of goods
and energy) incurred by our supplier.
For bigger projects of over 50,000we have introduced sustainability tests
which also cover economic and
social impacts for example, the new
Bannockburn Heritage Centre project
will use local apprentices, supported
by education opportunities for young
people living in a local housing estate.Achieving good performance against
CMP targets requires us to engage our
staff, public and partners, and a new
staff awareness programme will deliver
interactive training. We are communicating
our ambitions through our variouspublications and are creating new content
for the intranet and Climate Change web
pages. We have hard-working Green
Champions (mainly from the Commercial
and Tourism Directorate) who are invaluable
in communicating green messages and
providing advice to staff across our estate.We hope to replicate this model across
other key business areas to keep consistency
and momentum for our ongoing projects.Recent successful initiatives included a
heating campaign to help staff stay warm in
their work space, and eco-driving simulators
as part of Climate Week.By identifying
opportunities for
improvement
and for raising
the profile of
Historic
Scotlandssocial,
economic and
environmentalagenda, we
hope to
mainstreamsustainability into
all our operations.
METERING OUR
PROGRESS
Historic Scotlandbenefits fromhaving AutomaticMeter Reading(AMR) devices fittedacross 80 per cent
of the estate, andthey will soon befitted to our watermeters too. AMRdelivers a numberof benefitsAccurate billingbased on actualconsumptionAutomatic meterreading is beneficialfor remote orunmanned sitesHalf-hourly
readings allowfor detailed profilingof energyconsumption,highlightingunnecessaryenergy use (suchas when thebuilding is closed)Better forecastingand reduced timespent on bill queriesThe ClimateChange team can
work through anyanomalies directlywith site staff,instigating changesin behaviours,operationalmanagement,building fabricor systemimprovementsto ultimatelyreduce energyconsumption and
carbon emissions.These are allpart of a packageof measures whichwill continue to berolled outover thecomingmonthsand years.
AutomaticMeterReading(AMR) device
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Over the last 2-3 years,
Historic Scotland hasresearched methods of
reducing heat loss in
traditionally constructed buildings.
This follows direction from the Scottish
Governments 2010 Energy EfficiencyAction Plan, which states: Historic
Scotland will take the lead in researchingand promoting energy ef ficiency in
traditional housing.
The research sets out to trial different
methods of reducing heat loss using
materials that are not liable to cause
future problems for the building, whileretaining the greatest amount of original
building fabric. This article is a brief
summary of the site trials so far.More details can be found at
conservation.historic-scotland.gov.uk/
home/resourcecentre/
traditionalstructures/sustainability.htm
INSULATING MASS MASONRY WALLS
Where original lath and plaster survivesretention is to be strongly encouraged and
a number of trials have been conducted
into achieving this while still reducing heat
loss. At the Garden Bothy near Cumnock,
one room has seen bonded polystyrenebead blown behind the in situ lath and
plaster (some re-wiring work was requiredbefore this could be done) and in another
room cellulose material was blown in.
Energy efficiency site trialsSenior Technical Officer Moses Jenkinsoutlines some of the techniques being trialled by
Historic Scotland as part of the Governments Energy Efficiency initiative
FOCUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
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The polystyrene bead has also been used in
the energy tr ials at Wells OWearie Cottage
in Holyrood Park and in a room at the Wee
Causeway, Culross.
Where a mass masonry wall has beenplastered on the hard, a thin insulating
material that can be applied directly to the
wall is required. Historic Scotland has trialled
two materials of this type, both at the Wee
Causeway. The first is aerogel blanket, 10mm
in thickness applied directly to the masonry
using thermally decoupled expansionfasteners with metal mesh applied over the
top to take a plaster skim coat. Secondly,
calcium silicate board, 30mm in thickness,
was applied to the walls in ground floor
rooms using an adhesive mortar and finished
with a skim coat of plaster. Both materialshave subsequently been used in other trials,
with aerogel blanket being used to insulate
two tenement stairwells, one in Glasgow and
the other in Rothesay (the material being
particularly suited to curved substrates) and
the calcium silicate board being used to
insulate parts of the mass masonry walls of a
croft house in South Uist.Lastly, where original wall linings have
been lost or are severely deteriorated it is
possible to take the approach of framing out
and using the framing to hold an insulated
board. Recent trials have used f ibre board to
insulate walls in the aforementioned croft
house in South Uist and the Garden Bothy.
Wider trials took place in a tenement onSword Street, Glasgow (as discussed in Focus2009). This trial saw the use of three board-
based materials (hemp, wood fibre and
aerogel) fitted between timber framing,
cellulose material blown directly on the hard
and bonded polystyrene bead blown behind
an existing wall lining. This trial was successfulas it showed that, in the case of four of the
measures, the U-value was reduced to below0.3 (in the case of woodfibre board 0.19 was
achieved) and monitoring over the last 18
months has shown there to be no adverse
build up of humidity in either the fabric of the
masonry or at the interface of the masonryand the insulation.
INSULATING FLOORS
There can be significant benefits gainedfrom insulating ground floors in
traditionally constructed
buildings and recent site
trials have examined
various methods of floorinsulation. The research
can broadly be split intotwo categories:
insulating suspended
timber floors and
improving the performance of solid floors.
At Wells OWearie Cottage, Edinburgh, part
of the suspended timber floor was lifted and
insulated using hemp board. This was held
in place by the fixing of timber runners to
the sides of floor joists, the insulating boardbeing laid on top of these having been cut to
snugly fit between the joists.
Two methods of insulating solid concrete
floors have been examined in the current
site trials. The simpler of the two is to lay a
thin (30mm) aerogel insulating board ontop of the concrete floor, using adhesive.This method, which has been employed at
the croft house in South Uist, requires the
trimming of internal doors and therefore
entails some loss of fabric but will certainly
considerably improve the thermal
performance of the f loor.
The second method involves the lifting ofthe concrete and the laying of an insulated
lime concrete floor in its place. This was the
method used at the Garden Bothy,
where the existing floor was
excavated to a depth of 600mm
and a 500mm layer ofLightweight Expanded Clay
Aggregate (LECA) laid loose,
followed by 100mm of lime
concrete laid on top of this.
The lime concrete was formed
50Historic Scotlandsites will have
improved insulationby 2013
FOCUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Hemp board insulation
was used at Wells
OWearie Cottage
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Historic Scotland | Focus 2012 | 37
Board-based materialused to as partof wall insulation
Insulatingmaterial behindlath and plaster
of LECA mixed with NHL 3.5 lime. The thermal
benefits of this approach are considerable,
although the process is both disruptive and
time consuming, and will more than likely beused as part of a wider refurbishment.
LOFT AND ROOF INSULATION
There are two broad approaches to insulating
a roof, either by laying insulation horizontally
on the upper side of a ceiling (known as a coldroof) or between or over rafters (known as a
warm roof). At both the Garden Bothy andWee Causeway, the cold roof method was
used, with 250mm of sheeps wool and hemp
bats employed respectively. This is a fairly
simple procedure to carry out, and the
important thing to note from these trials isthe choice of a natural, hydroscopic and
vapour permeable material.
At Milton of Buchanan Village Hall there was
no loft space and warm roof insulation was
therefore used. The product used was a mix of
hemp and wool installed between the rafters
with a 50mm air gap between the insulationand the underside of the sarking. This gap and
the use of natural permeable material wasdesigned to minimise the likelihood of
moisture condensing in the sarking board
zone of the roof due to air-borne vapour from
below or penetrating dampness from above.The final method of insulating a roof space was
carried out at the Uist croft house and
involved fitting wood fibre board insulationbehind the existing wall lining of a coombed
ceiling in upper floor rooms. This involved the
removal of existing v-groove timber linings,
with the board being slid down behind. Care
was taken not to completely fill the cavity
behind, allowing ventilation to circulate
around the underside of the roof.
IMPROVING TRADITIONAL WINDOWS
At Milton of Buchanan Hall andthe Rothesay tenement trials,
secondary glazing was fitted.
This has been shown to improve
the U-value of single glazedwindows from 5.4 to 1.7. At the
Garden Bothy, the single glazing
in the existing windows was
removed and replaced with thin
profile double glazed units. At both South
Uist and in a wider window trial in
Stromness, Orkney new sash and casewindows incorporating double glazed units
were manufactured and installed. Previous
research has shown that the U-value of asash and case window can be improved from
5.4 to 1.3 by installing such double glazed
units. It should be noted that in all trials the
windows were also draught stripped and atStromness the shutters were re-instated.
CONCLUSION
This article represents a very brief summary
of the program of site trials currently being
undertaken by Historic Scotland. By carrying
out such research, it will become possible topresent a suite of options for improving the
thermal performance of traditionally
constructed buildings, using materials and
methods that ensure the continued health of
those buildings.
Historic Scotland plan to use the site trials
as the basis of a TechnicalManual on the subject, to be
published early in 2012. The
monitoring of the work
undertaken, in terms of
thermal improvement and
problems with moistureconcentrations, continues. The
results of these studies will be
shown in case study papers periodically
updated on the Historic Scotland
Knowledge Base website.
Through the completion of these trials
and ongoing monitoring work, Historic
Scotland has taken the lead in researchingmethods and materials for improving the
thermal performance of traditionally
constructed buildings, ensuring they
continue to be an integral part of our built
environment long into the future.
HISTORICSCOTLAND HAS
TAKEN THE LEAD INRESEARCHING
THERMALPERFORMANCE
Double glazed
units in sash and
case window
Insulated lime concretewas used at one site
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Contributors
Scott BradyCarbon [email protected]
Eleanor MitchellSustainability [email protected]
Vanesa GonzalezSenior Outreach [email protected]
Ailsa MurrayPaintings [email protected]
Dorothy HoskinsTechnical Outreach and Education [email protected]
Peter RansonDistrict [email protected]
Craig KennedySenior Conservation [email protected]
Jessica SnowSenior Technical Officer
Kirsty MacDonaldGaelic Language and Policy [email protected]
Audrey TullyEnergy [email protected]
Elizabeth McGrathPublications and Marketing [email protected]
Lyn WilsonScottish Ten Project [email protected]
Roger CurtisTechnical Research [email protected]
Hugh MorrisonCollections [email protected]
Ewan HyslopHead of Sustainability and [email protected]
Nira PonniahDistrict [email protected]
Moses JenkinsSenior Technical [email protected]
Joann RussellClimate Change Architect
Ian LambieDistrict [email protected]
Colin TennantHead of Traditional Skills and [email protected]
Damiana MagrisPaintings [email protected]
Rona WalkerCollections [email protected]
David MitchellDirector of [email protected]
Produced for Historic Scotland by Think Publishing Ltd.Think Publishing, 20-23 Woodside Place, Glasgow G3 7QF
EditorAndrew Cattanach Email [email protected] Ball Sub-editorAndrew LittlefieldPublisherJohn Innes Email [email protected]
www.thinkpublishing.co.uk Telephone 0141 582 1280
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2012PUBLICATIONSCATALOGUE
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2|Visit www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/conservation to order or view online
INDEX
BRICK AND CLAY
17 Building Scotland
Celebrating Scotlands
Traditional Building Materials
17 Inform House CD ROM Revised 2011
03 Ceramic Tiled Flooring
05 Repairing Brickwork
06 Terracotta and Faience
13 The Investigation, Repair andConservation of the Doulton
Fountain, Glasgow Green
BUILDING TYPES
17 Building Scotland
Celebrating Scotlands
Traditional Building Materials
08 Corrosion in Masonry Clad
Early Twentieth-Century Steel
Framed Buildings
13 Cottiers in Context
16 Historic Scotland Traditional
Building Materials
12 Scottish Iron Structures
ENERGY CONSERVATION
17 Inform House CD ROM Revised 201115 Embodied Carbon in Natural Building
Stone in Scotland
14 Energy Modelling in Traditional
Scottish Houses
14 Energy modelling of a Mid-19th-
Century Villa
15 Energy modelling of the Garden Bothy
04 Improving Energy Efficiency in
Traditional Buildings Revised 2011
14 Indoor Air Quality and Energy
Efficiency in Traditional Buildings
15 Keeping Warm in a Cooler House
15 Scottish Renaissance Interiors
15 Slim profile Double Glazing Thermal
Performance and Embodied Energy
14 Thermal performance ofTraditional Windows
15 U-values and traditional buildings
GLASS
17 Building Scotland
Celebrating Scotlands
Traditional Building Materials
13 Cottiers in Context
03 Domestic Decorative Glass
05 Maintaining Traditional Plain
Glass and Glazing
GRAVEYARDS
12 Conservation of
Historic Graveyards
10 Researching your Graveyard
Reference Report10 Sources of Financial Assistance
for the Conservation of
Scotlands Historic Graveyards
Reference Report
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
03 Bird Control on Buildings
17 Building Scotland
Celebrating Scotlands
Traditional Building Materials
17 Inform House CD ROM Revised 2011
17 Conservation Case Study
Hanoverian Coat of Arms
17 Maintaining Your Home
17 Sash And Case Windows
12 Stone in Scotland
13 The Investigation, Repair and
Conservation of the Doulton
Fountain, Glasgow Green
11 The Performance of Replacement
Sandstone in the New Town
of Edinburgh
18 The Repair of Historic Buildingsin Scotland
07 The Treatment of Graffiti on
Historic Surfaces
METALS
13 Architectural Ironwork in Stornoway
03 Boundary Ironwork
03 Bronze
17 Building Scotland
Celebrating Scotlands
Traditional Building Materials
03 Care and Maintenance of
Corrugated Iron
17 Inform House CD ROM Revised 2011
08 Corrugated Iron and Other Ferrous
Metal Cladding
04 Finials and Terminals04 Fireplaces
12 Scottish Iron Structures
17 Technical Reference Series:
Saracen Foundry
06 The Maintenance of Cast Iron
Rainwater Goods
06 The Maintenance of Iron Gates
and Railings
PAINTS AND FINISHES
17 Building Scotland
Celebrating Scotlands
Traditional Building Materials
17 Inform House CD ROM Revised 2011
17 Conservation Case Study
Hanoverian Coat of Arms13 Conservation of Phoebe Anna
Traquair Murals
13 Cottiers in Context
03 Decorative Paint Finishes: Graining
and Marbling
17 Easel Painting Conservation
04 Gilding Techniques Care and
Maintenance
04 Interior Paint A Guide to Internal
Paint Finishes
PLASTER
17 Building Scotland
Celebrating Scotlands
Traditional Building Materials
08 Care and Conservation of 17th-
Century Plasterwork in Scotland17 Inform House CD ROM Revised 2011
07 Conservation of Plasterwork
RECORDING AND SURVEYING
12 Measured Survey and Building
Recording for Historic Buildings
and Structure
07 Access to the Built Heritage
17 Inform House CDROM Revised 2011
17 Dictionary of Scottish Building
09 Historic Landuse Assessment
09 Laser Stonecleaning in Scotland
08 Non-destructive Investigation of
Standing Structures
10 Parchment/Vellum Conservation
Survey and Bibliography
10 Scotlands