Breaking New Ground

Reconnecting People with The Brecks

Tales of Wobbly Sticks and Other Wonders

On the 25th April the BNG project Discovering the Archaeology of the Brecks held an "Historic Buildings in the Brecks" Day. Presented by Norfolk Historic Environment Service it was located at Mundford Village Hall.

In the morning we had talks by Stephen Heywood, Architectural Historian. Stephen initially spoke about some of the historic buildings here in the Brecks, several of which I am now planning to visit. Cranwich church is one, as I want to see the window made from a single piece of limestone, also the Kings House in Thetford to see if I can spot the fragments of masonry from Thetford Priory included in the fabric of the building. Somewhere there is a 12th century lion to be found.

"Techniques of Manual Building Recording" initiated us into the use of the Wobbly Stick, used to measure heights in buildings. I understand it has a more technical, but probably quite boring name. Stephen also took us through other methods used to record old buildings.

In the afternoon we visited West Hall, Mundford, where the owner kindly allowed Stephen to show us such features as a carved beam brought from Thetford Priory after the Dissolution.

After a walk through Mundford we went to St Leonard's Church where the Wobbly Stick was put to use. Stephen showed us how to measure the dimensions of a building using a line. Apparently you may have to triangulate with compasses to calculate the angle of a corner. For the first time in many years, possible ever, I wished I'd paid attention in Maths lessons.

A follow up day is planned to continue teaching us building recording techniques. Including, I'm hoping, triangulating with compasses.

A fascinating day, I learned so much and the time just flew by.  Each of these events opens up new avenues of knowledge to be explored and enriches my appreciation of the world around me. I'm looking forward to the next one.”

Click here to see more images from the day.

This project is being delivered by the Norfolk Historic Environment Service and Suffolk County Council.  To find out about up-coming workshops in the programme click here.

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