I don’t do what I do now because of a lifelong love of old buildings. As I am sure my parents would attest to, I had to be dragged around most of the stately homes, castles and churches we went to visit every year on our family holidays around the UK.
My interest in old buildings developed from the infrastructure they provided for the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries and the second industrial revolution of the later part of the 19th century and early 20th century. Think Bazalgette’s pumping stations, Brunel’s bridges and Bessemer’s converter. Add in a few hours of Fred Dibnah and Guy Martin bringing these things to life on screen and we end up with me consuming as much knowledge as I can about anything over a hundred years old, from scythe making to lime slaking.
When I am not crawling around in roofspaces or cellars, I am usually mending, making or refurbishing something, or up at my allotment plot. I also mentor surveying students at Sheffield Hallam University, I am an RICS APC Doctor, a member of the South Yorkshire Industrial Heritage Society and I am the Chairman of the Ecclesall Allotment Association.
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