Architectural conservation class attracts local residents and students from across Virginia and five other states
Listen to a sound clip about this workshop broadcast on 88.9 WCVE
Thirty participants from across Virginia and five other states attended a three-day architectural conservation workshop, June 1-3, sponsored by the Menokin Foundation and Rappahannock Community College . Participants represented a broad range of professions, including architects, contractors, artisans, and students in preservation-related fields. The workshop was held at the Martin Kirwan King Conservation and Visitors' Center on the grounds of Menokin—now a National Historic Landmark—built by Declaration of Independence signer Francis Lightfoot Lee for himself and his wife, Rebecca Tayloe of nearby Mount Airy.
The course used Menokin as a teaching laboratory for an intensive overview of 18 th -century framing and building techniques, and the conservation of historic masonry and wood elements. It was taught by conservators John Greenwalt Lee, Charles A. Phillips, AIA, and Ellen Hagsten, who head-up the Foundation's consulting conservation team. Local contractor and artisan Eddie Boudreaux of Richmond County led the group in a discussion and demonstration of historic joinery tools and planes, using pieces from his own collection. Architectural historian Jeffery Klee of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation presented a lecture on “reading” 18 th century buildings, and led the group in tours of two 18 th century homes—Grove Mount and Mount Airy . Both houses are in private ownership and are not usually open to the public.
The Menokin Foundation and RCC received positive feedback from the participants on the course, and suggestions for future conservation workshop topics. One student wrote in her evaluation, “[The workshop] was an engaging mix of presentations from experts in the field with demonstrations and hands-on experience!” Another student wrote, “I liked the instructors' enthusiasm and ability to adapt regular everyday tools to accomplish a conservation goal.” The practical architectural conservation training provided at the workshop was summed up by one student when he wrote, “It was real. The teachers got their hands dirty.”
RCC president Dr. Elizabeth Crowther, who is also one of the trustees of the Menokin Foundation, comments, “The current state of Menokin provides an extraordinary opportunity for students to receive education and training on a broad spectrum of architectural conservation issues, including moisture problems, making and using historic repair mortars, woodwork repair and consolidation, techniques for removal of Portland cement pointing, and window restoration.”
RCC welcomes the opportunity to work with the Menokin Foundation on this program. Part of the college's mission is to promote the personal growth of its students; this partnership provides an excellent connection to an outstanding cultural and community educational experience.
Menokin Foundation Executive Director, Sarah Dillard Pope, is excited about the interest in this educational program, stating, “The Menokin Foundation is just starting with its educational offerings, and we are delighted to receive such a favorable response on this first workshop.”
Check back to the Menokin web site for a listing of future conservation workshops
The participants gathered on the steps of Mt. Airy before their tour of the house.
A behind-the-scenes tour of Menokin was conducted on Day 1 of the workshop.
Instructor Ellen Hagsten demonstrates in the Menokin conservation shop how to make lime and sand mortar.