Consultancy

CHRISTOPHER NORTH

BUILDING CONSERVATION

HISTORIC BUILDING ADVICE

Christopher North offers a special service to architects, surveyors and building engineers. With over 35 years experience in studying and advising on buildings, he can offer guidance on the analytical understanding, conservation and repair of historic buildings. His speciality is timber framed structures.

QUALIFICATIONS: Four years at Newcastle University for a BA studying architecture, history

and archaeology.

MSc [Distinction] in Timber Building Conservation.

EXPERIENCE: Historic Buildings Adviser for Suffolk County Council for 6½ years.

Historic Buildings Adviser for St Edmundsbury Borough Council for 7 years.

Independent Historic Buildings Consultant for 13 years.

Founder of Suffolk Historic Buildings Group; Secretary/Chairman for 6 years.

Thesis on Late 12th and 13th Century Carpentry of West Suffolk.

SPECIALITIES: The design, structure and conservation of timber-framed buildings.

Examples of his Professional Contributions:

• The accurate survey of the drawbridge and abutment leading into the castle at Newcastle was used by engineers as a template for building a replacement bridge.

• The analysis of an apparent insignificant building in Stowmarket revealed the remains of a 14th Century merchant's house. This work was published as a free-standing publication.

• A brief survey of the 16th Century roof of a house in Lavenham saved the owner about £10,000 in proposed rebuilding costs.

• A measured survey and photographic record was made of 12 buildings on the Cattle Market, Bury St Edmunds, before major redevelopment of the site.

• A written report on the significant historical elements of a listed building in Ely, allowed the developer and the local Conservation Officer to agree on the proposed alterations.

• The analytical survey, with accurate drawings, of the rear-wing to a 17th Century house in Stowmarket, has shown that the apparently unstable timber frame is still structurally sound and worthy of incorporation into a new architectural scheme.

CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING

The Analysis of an Historical Building. Christopher offers a CPD Masterclass training in the development of East Anglian historic timber buildings and in their analysis.

Understanding how Timber works in a Building. Based on a lifetime’s enthusiasm for ‘all things wooden’, Christopher can offer a presentation on the way timber was worked and assembled into a building, making use of the various properties of different species of native timber.

The Essence of Sustainable Building. Having established and run East Anglia's first Eco-Building and Decorating Centre for the last 9 years, Christopher is in an excellent position to train others in the materials required for a sustainable building.