Construction History Society

@constructionhist.bsky.social

Construction history worldwide. Materials, technologies, systems and people relating to construction in the past. Journal, members' magazine, conferences etc To get a follow-back tell us your construction interests. https://www.constructionhistory.co.uk

For the Safety of All: Scotland's Lighthouses
3 August – 25 September 2026, Monday-Friday, 09:00-16:00
26 September 2026, Doors Open Day, 10:00-16:00
General Register House, Adam Dome
Free

The stunning coastline of Scotland and its islands have provided a livelihood for its population for centuries. While beautiful, it is one of the most treacherous coastal waters in the world.

Our fascinating archival exhibition celebrates the history of Scottish lighthouses, the establishment and role of the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), and the unique occupation of the lighthouse keeper. This exhibition examines the construction of the world’s oldest off-shore lighthouse, the Bell Rock, and displays original records documenting the disappearance of the three lightkeepers of the Flannan Isle Lighthouse in 1900.

Wall of granite rubble and brick with various left-behind scars of chimneys etc. ANDREW AEDIE'S LODGING, THE GREEN, ABERDEEN
https://her.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/Monument/MAB57082/
Site of a town house which was demolished in 1914. The Aedie family house stood on the north side of the Green at the corner of Aedie's Wynd, now known as Back Wynd. The house had possibly been built by the master-mason, Andrew Jamesone (father of George Jameson), for Andrew Aedie, maltman, who died in 1604. His initials along with those of his wife, Christina Guthrie, were on one of the skewputts. The building was of three storeys made of harled stone walls and had a steep pitched slated roof. It had an unusual feature of a wide chamfer at the south-west corner between the first floor and the eaves, where the skewputt was carried on three rounded corbel courses. There were latterly shops at the pavement level and at the second floor there were three fine dormer windows, added by David Aedie in 1633, whilst the west dormer tympanum has his monogram/initials and coat of arms. In the middle there was a complex monogram of the initials DAE and KB for his wife, Katherine Burnett bearing the date 1633 and a shield carrying the combined heraldic arms of Aedie and Burnett. Davie Aedie was one of the many townsmen killed by Montrose's troops at the Battle of Aberdeen near Justice Mills in 1644. Mary Jamesone, daughter of George Jamesone, married George Aedie in 1677 and may have lived in the house until her death in 1684. She is most widely known for her embroidered religious panels that hang in the West Kirk of St. Nicholas. The house was demolished in 1914 during refurbishment of the Green and expansion of Union Street. The outline of the roof and some of the sandstone still can be seen on the adjacent property on the Green.

Milton Mill. It was at various times a lint mill, seed-cleaning mill and a hone mill (making sharpening or honing stones). In more recent times it was a hotel and restaurant for decades but has been derelict for over 10yrs now.
More here: https://www.ayrshirehistory.com/ref_mills_of_the_river_ayr_hume.html

Tower interior with some worrying repairs.

That dark grey covering just above the water is old concrete probably applied in 19thC when Joseph Cubitt owned the castle. It is not helping so it will be removed at some point in the next few years.

From https://www.facebook.com/groups/749378762958140/permalink/1693935198502487/

An appeal for help from The Netherlands about a British construction company.
Mr Jacques Lemmink is researching post-War Reconstruction (1945-1965) of Bergen op Zoom in the Netherlands, with a view to publication in late 2028:

"During my investigation, I was struck by references to an English construction engineer named J. Henry Dyke. My drive is to give this person more ‘body’ in my publication and thus also in Dutch historiography. Why?

The Simplified Brickwork house, also known as the Davis house, is a unique building type that emerged in the UK between 1934 and the 1950s. Designed by J. Henry Dyke and manufactured by Simplified Brick Construction Ltd, (patent GB402426) 11 Old Jewry, London EC2 these homes were part of a broader movement to provide affordable and durable housing during a period of significant social and economic change. Approximately 700 of these houses were built in England during the pre- and postwar period, primarily as bungalows and two-storey semi-detached houses. They are characterized by their steep pitch gable roofs covered with concrete tiles and external walls made of brick or rendered throughout.

"I am a fellow researcher at the University of Granada. I am conducting research into historic bridges in Andalusia and would be very interested in consulting the second part of an article, the first part of which was published in *History of Technology* in 1986. The article is:

J. G. James (1987)
“The origins and worldwide spread of Warren-truss bridges in the mid-nineteenth century. Part 2: Overseas development and diffusion”

Unlike the first part, this second part was not published as a standard article and, as far as I understand, is circulating as an academic offprint or copy in university libraries.
I thought that perhaps you or a member of the CHS might know where this work can be found. If you could help me track it down, I would be very grateful."

https://www.constructionhistorybibliography.org/entryrecord.asp
Buy the proceedings here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/treve-rosoman-and-david-yeomans-and-michael-tutton-and-michael-heaton/building-histories-the-proceedings-of-the-fourth-annual-construction-history-society-conference/paperback/product-1rvmwr9j.html?page=1&pageSize=4

The Spring 2026 issue of Women’s History Today is now available. This issue brings together research examining women’s participation in the built environment, with a particular focus on educational institutions, professional formation and uneven career trajectories. The digital version of this edition is available free to all members – see details below

The British Archaeological Association, the Friends of Barts Heritage and the Friends of Great St Bartholomew are delighted to invite you to this event on Friday 26 June in aid of the fund-raising campaign for new loos at the church of Great St Bartholomew and in memory of Professor Peter Fergusson.

The conference will begin in the newly restored Great Hall at Bart's Hospital at 11 a.m. (registration from 10.30 a.m.), and will be followed by a drinks reception (with pay bar) at 5.30 p.m. in the Cloisters of the church.

The fee is £30. Tea and biscuits will be provided in the afternoon tea break, but delegates should find their own lunch. There are many suitable places in Smithfield.

Speakers will include Dr Jeremy Ashbee, Dr Alex Buchanan, Professor David Carpenter, Dr David Harrison, Dr Piers Mitchell, Julian Munby, Will Palin and Professor Carole Rawlcliffe .

All funds raised by the event will go towards The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Great St Bartholomew's (charity no. 1163024) 900th appeal .

Dear Colleagues,
We will soon be compilign the next edition of our magazine - The Construction Historian. Several of you have intimated that you are working on articles that would be suitable, so please send them to me. The magazine is not peer reviewed and we welcome non-academic contributions. We are happy to discuss your ideas.

We wish to add a new 'regular' feature: 'My Favourite Construction History Image'. So if you have photographs, prints of paintings or drawings, or your own graphics that tell an intreresting story, send them in with a few paragraphs of text explaining why they interest you.

Thanks
Mike Heaton
membership@constructionhistory.co.uk

Black granite cramp from Seti 1st's tomb with his cartouche carved into it, to make sure everyone knows it's his tomb and also to give magical protection.

Front page of the parish magazine for Nov 1970.
Group of owmen at teabreak on building site.

The Mercenary River’ by Nick Higham

Today we take water for granted. Turn a tap and the stuff gushes out. But for centuries London struggled to supply its citizens with reliable, clean drinking water.

Nick Higham tells the story of London’s water from the Tudor era to the 20th century. It’s a tale of remarkable technological, scientific and organisational breakthroughs, but also one of greed and complacency, high finance and low politics. London’s 19th century water companies operated a cartel which worked in their interests, not their customers’. The water they supplied was overpriced, deficient in quantity and frequently filthy – described by one scientist as “diluted sewage”. It took the best part of a century of campaigning to bring the water companies to heel.

The old Victoria Infirmary awaiting reincarnation as posh flats.

Girl nailmaker: pointing spike nails 1889.

My visit to the air raid shelter on Diglis Island yesterday threw up some extra questions.
1. Is the build style of precast concrete sections bolted together the usual construction ?
2. It's 15 sections each side which I assume is space for up to 30 people. Is that correct ?
3. Most of the sections have similar "Graffiti".on them. Is this period or later ?
4. While talking with my escort, I suggested that the skylight visible in the last photo was a modern thing. Yes ?

Search results - 17 papers about women in construction history.

Main theme will be the history of regulation & corruption in the building industry.
1st day will be devoted to this theme. Topics might include (but are not limited to):
• Corruption in contracting, including in material & labour supply chains
• Legal cases in building projects
• Guilds & regulation
• Building regulations & practices created or modified to prevent corruption
• Failures & other built effects caused by illegal or irregular practices
• Thefts from building sites & steps taken to prevent them
• Historiographical approaches, sources, & methods that allow insights into these processes
Abstracts are welcome from any period. The object is to study interactions between regulation & compliance & barriers & hurdles to change.
2nd day will consider any paper on construction history including a special session on fountains & water supply.
This is a history conference. The review panel will only accept papers based on historical research, not surveys of contemporary practice or conservation.
Abstracts: 300-500 words long, including full names, academic affiliation or employer, a description of the subject proposed, the sources to be used, & where it fits within or how it relates to the current literature on the topic, together with address & email contact details. Submissions should be made to chs@aha.cam.ac.uk.

Process & Paper Submission
The abstracts will be peer-reviewed & the authors informed of the results by 15 March 2026. The final paper must be submitted by 1 May 2026. Final papers will be 5000 words/30,000 characters & can include up to 10 images. The editors reserve the right
to reject papers that do not meet the necessary st&ards at this stage.

Publication
Submit full paper by 1 May 2026 & will be prepared for publication & printed in July/August. Proceedings are published as an edited book with an ISBN number published & available at conference. All final accepted papers must be presented at the conference by at least one of the authors

Cover of the construction historian showing a roughly-hewn baulk of timber on the ground with an axe.

Orange-covered issue of the International journal of the Construction History Society from 2017

$Collecting Scottish Heavy Ceramics Tue Jan 13 2026 Ian Suddaby To be honest, the term ‘Heavy Ceramics’ is not one I’ve ever used so it seemed like a good idea to consult Google at an early stage. Apparently, bricks and tiles are included in this category, alongside heavier items like industrial pipes, troughs and decorative pieces for home and garden. For the purposes of this summary, I’m going to exclude ‘light’ items like standard sized bricks and tiles although some of those can weigh over 6kg. Included will be larger refractory special shapes and the above range of products. Most are made from fireclay, with some being salt glazed. A few are made from surface clay deposits. Special Shapes more at: https://www.mining-landscapes.org/blog$