Perth Traditional Building Skills Event Success!
Working in close partnership with the Fife and Tayside Traditional Buildings Forum, we held our second two-day Traditional Buildings Skills event on King Edward Street in Perth. The event is intended to raise awareness of Scotland’s fantastic traditional buildings and the specialist skills needed to keep them in good repair through demonstrations and opportunities for people to have a go at traditional building skills. This year we had demonstrations by specialists in stonemasonry (Historic Environment Scotland [HES]), specialist joinery (TJ Ross Ltd & Perth College UHI), roof slating (Dundee & Angus College & Braisby Roofing), and painting and decorating (Ross Hastie-independent signwriter). Information and guidance was provided to homeowners interested in repairing and maintaining their buildings by representatives from HES, Perth and Kinross Council and PKHT. Construction careers advice was also available from Balfour Beatty’s Community Investment Manager.
Inspiring future generations through skills from the past is a major focus of this event, reflecting the core strategic objectives of the Trust. Secondary school pupils from Crieff & Perth High Schools, Breadalbane, St. John’s & Perth Academies, and Perth Grammar School attended half-day sessions where they got to try each of the skills in turn. These pupils are beginning to think about their career choices, so giving them these opportunities at this stage is really important in helping them consider and realise the potential of less well known practical career options.
The event was well attended and attracted a lot of interest from the passing public. We were also delighted to welcome local MSP Murdo Fraser and Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Roseanna Cunningham MSP. Peter Wishart MP also came along expressing great interest in what was happening and tried his hand at the trades.
The local press were also out with a particularly nice feature being published in The Courier.
The event was a collaboration between Perth & Kinross Heritage Trust, Perth City Heritage Fund, Perth and Kinross Council, Dundee & Angus College, Historic Environment Scotland, T J Ross Ltd, Ross Hastie Signs, University of the Highlands and Islands Perth College, National Federation of Roofing Contractors, Scottish Contractors Group, Construction Industry Training Board and Stone Federation GB and Balfour Beatty.
All images © George Logan