Commonwealth visitors restore listed country house

Twenty-four architects and heritage specialists from across the Commonwealth are helping to restore part of a Grade II*-listed country house.

Attendees from countries such as Barbados, India, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago are taking part in repairs to the stable block at Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham to learn heritage craft skills.

As part of the three-week summer school, which is part of the Commonwealth Heritage Forum and the City & Guilds of London Art School, the students will work on the Grade I-listed stables alongside experts.

Karishma Nanhu, from Trinidad and Tobago, said: "When I get back I'm going to share as much information as possible with my colleagues."

The aim is for the visitors to learn transferable skills that can be used to protect heritage sites in their own countries.

Nanhu, who works at the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago, said: "It's such a privilege to be here because we don't have the opportunity to learn these skills in my country and as a result of that, the craft skills are dying out."

Wentworth Woodhouse was chosen for its national architectural and heritage importance and because it is undergoing a major restoration requiring specialist skills.

The Commonwealth delegation includes a lime specialist, archaeologists, architects, conservationists and construction specialists.

They were repairing sash windows more than two centuries old, cleaning statues from the early 1800s, and lime pointing.

Rebecca Austin, 26, from New Zealand, said: "I usually work in an office typing on a computer, so it's been really fantastic to come and learn hands-on in this beautiful place with amazing, passionate people who know so much knowledge and so much expertise."

The policy advisor for the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage said her country's stately homes were smaller so it had been "quite mind-boggling" to see the scale of the restoration required.

"I want to learn more about the actual crafts and the hands-on expertise because the craftspeople are the backbone of our heritage sector."

Peter Sandiford, 55, an architect from Barbados, was cleaning one of the statues.

He said: "It's basically just learning how to use what solvents to dissolve the pollutants without damaging the marble itself."

He said it was "a lot of fun" and also important to learn the skills to "protect" heritage when they returned home.

Krishna Priya Panicker is an architect in India and said: "The way we conserve our buildings is also very different."

She said she wanted to "know how the conservation actually worked" because in India the communities near heritage sites were less connected to them compared to in the UK.

"When I came here to Wentworth, I saw a lot of community engagement happening. We are trying to engage with the community back there [in India]," she said.

Head of heritage at Wentworth Woodhouse, Simon Gill, said: "It's such an amazing opportunity to work with all these people from every corner of the world.

"They're applying the skills that we're teaching them here back at home, but they're also bringing in their skills."

He said these skills could be used in places like Trinidad and Tobago where the British had an architectural legacy and colonial-era buildings needed to be maintained.

The Commonwealth Heritage Forum provided full bursaries to the successful 24 applicants from Commonwealth member states, covering course fees, accommodation, a stipend, and travel and visa costs.

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