Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th January 2024, College Court Conference Centre, Knighton Road, Leicester, LE2 3UF
There have been significant developments in dendrochronological dating over the past 10 years and much of this has had important implications for vernacular building research. New complementary techniques have opened up opportunities to date other wood types and timbers derived from short-lived trees and increased the number of buildings that can be accurately dated. This has allowed dendrochronology to contribute to vernacular building studies in a wider number of areas, moving beyond the dating of individual buildings to contribute to studies of settlements and regions and contribute to other debates.
The Vernacular Architecture Group winter conference will cover new techniques, dating of other timber types, including imported timbers, and the contribution of dendrochronology to wider studies on vernacular building. The emphasis throughout the conference will be on case studies and practical applications of techniques to vernacular buildings.
Conference Programme
Saturday 6 January 2024
14.00 – Welcome & Introduction
Session 1
- 14.05 – Nat Alcock (Independent researcher) – The Tree-ring Database: 1978-2023: 4,000 dates and counting
- 14.35 – Cathy Tyers (Dendrchronologist, Historic England) – Scientific Dating and vernacular architecture
- 15.05 – Robert Howard (Nottingham Tree Ring Dating Laboratory) – Case study: Calverley Old Hall
15.35 – 16.05 – Tea and coffee
Session 2: Oxygen isotope analysis and Radiocarbon dating
- 16.05 – Neil Loader (Prifysgol Abertawe/Swansea University) – An introduction to stable isotope dendrochronology
- 16.45 – Dan Miles (Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory) – Stable isotope dendrochronology. Application to vernacular buildings
- 17.25 – Alex Bayliss (Head of Scientific Dating, Historic England) – Using radiocarbon dating to understand historic buildings
18:00 – 18:30 – Break
18:30 – Dinner
20.00-20.30 – AGM
Evening lecture
- 20.40 – Danny McCarroll (Prifysgol Abertawe/Swansea University) – Welsh Houses and the climate of the past
21:30 – Bar
Sunday 7 January 2024
Session 3 – Beyond oak – dating from other wood species
- 9.00 – Ann Crone (AOC Archaeology Group) and Coralie Mills (Dendrochronologie) – Home and away; the dendrochronology of pine in Scottish buildings
- 9.30 – Rob Wilson (School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of St. Andrews) – Blue Intensity and historical dating: Not just for conifers!
- 10.10 – Dr Martin Bridge (Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory) – Elm and dating prospects with additional analysis methods
10.50 – 11.20 – Tea and coffee
Session 4 – Dendro and its application to settlements and areas
- 11.20 – Steven J Allen (Conservation Dept, York Archaeology) – Dates and the details: Constructing Anglo-Scandinavian Buildings in York
- 11.50 – Duncan James (Insight Heritage) – Pembridge village, Herefordshire in the light of dendro
- 12.20 – Stephen Price (Independent researcher) – The impact of dendro on understanding urban development in the Worcestershire towns of Droitwich and Bewdley
13.00 – 14.00 – Lunch
Session 5
- 14.00 – Ann Crone (AOC Archaeology Group) – American oak imports to Britain and Ireland in the 18th and early 19th centuries; the dendrochronological evidence
- 14.40 – Vincent Debonne (researcher, built heritage, Flanders Heritage Agency, Belgium) – Towards tree-ring based chronologies of historical building materials and techniques. The example of Bruges (Belgium)
- 15.20 – Chris Dyer (University of Leicester) – The importance of tree ring dates in changing our understanding of the past
16.00 – Close
Full booking details are being circulated to members during week beginning 13 November 2023, and are also available in the Members’ Area. Booking closes on 15 December 2023.
We are offering two bursaries to assist registered full or part-time students, recent graduates or professionals in the early years of their career to attend the conference; for more information please see the bursary details. The closing date for bursary applications is 8 December 2023.
Medieval Art Research 