Level Two Brickwork and Carpentry students from the College of West Anglia’s (CWA) King’s Lynn Campus recently stepped beyond the classroom and into the past, taking part in a live heritage restoration workshop focused on traditional sash windows and restoring historic brickwork.
Delivered in collaboration with the Swaffham - A Historic Market Town Project, the event gave students invaluable insight into the skills and techniques required for historic building restoration.
As part of a three-year initiative supported by Breckland District Council, Historic England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and Swaffham Town Council, the workshop was designed to introduce students to the wide-ranging opportunities in the conservation sector, highlighting career paths that extend far beyond standard modern construction.
Students also benefited from guest talks by experts from Historic England and Messenger, a heritage contractor, who shared their knowledge of traditional methods and the growing need for skilled tradespeople in heritage restoration.
Lecturer Tony Smith commented, ‘It’s a great opportunity for young people to see that there are real career options in heritage construction – not just in new-build brickwork. With a national skills drought in this field, the more students are exposed to these pathways, the better.’
Throughout the day, students got hands-on experience with heritage materials like lime mortar, learning how it’s mixed, applied, and behaves differently from modern alternatives.
Student, Nkazimulo Ncube said, ‘There’s a bit more to do in this kind of work, and I enjoy the variety. You learn about different materials – mixing lime was really interesting. Seeing it reach 200 degrees when adding water was something I’ve never seen before.
Student, Callum Cooke added ‘This kind of work is important to me – it’s what I’ve wanted to do since secondary school. I took a brickwork course back then and loved it. College allowed me to go further.’
Student, Jake Crofts shared ‘It’s useful to learn about heritage brickwork. Understanding things like sand and aggregate is a nice change from our usual lessons – it gives you a different perspective.’
The workshop helped Level 2 students develop practical skills while broadening their perspectives on the possibilities within the world of heritage conservation, preservation, and specialist restoration.