As many of you will have anticipated, we have decided to postpone the AGM, which was due to be held on 16th June, as well as the John Shannon Memorial Lecture. We hope to have the AGM and lecture in October, whether online or in person.

As many of you will have had the date in your diaries, we have decided to take the opportunity to hosting an online event on 16th June at 7pm. The event, Conservation and Craft Myths: A Window into the YCCC World, will showcase the work of four members, who will each provide a fifteen-minute presentation on the myths they encounter in their field. This will be followed by a twenty-minute Q&A session, where the audience can quiz the panel. Speakers will include Bethan Griffiths (The Ironwork Studio), Susie Clark (Paper and Photographic Conservator and Consultant), Matthias Garn (Matthias Garn Master Mason and Partner) and Keith Barley (Barley Studio).

The free event will be held via Zoom, and instructions for registering will be circulated in the next few days. More information on the speakers and their subjects will soon be added to our website.

Not to be deterred by COVID-19 in their quest to bring you the benefit of their expertise, the National Heritage Ironwork Group are holding a new webinar on assessing the condition of heritage ironwork. This informative course will be lead by YCCC committee member, Bethan Griffiths, of The Ironwork Studio.

Assessing Heritage Forged & Cast Ironwork: An Introductory Guide to Reporting, Inspection & Recording

Tickets: £15-£35

Course leader: Bethan Griffiths (The Ironwork Studio)

Date: Wednesday 3rd June 2020

Time: 10:00-12:00 (GMT)

Conservation Reports are a fundamental requirement of good conservation practice but the process can be fraught with confusion:

What should they include?
How long should they be?
How should they be organised?
Who are they for?
Adding to the confusion, the term ‘conservation report’ can be used to refer to a single report or a compilation of reports, and condition reports are also known as condition surveys or condition assessments.

This webinar will provide a short introductory guide to the different types of report categories associated with the first stage of all conservation work: assessment. It will give an overview of the basics to put assessment as a whole into context, but its main focus will be on condition reporting. Overall, it will provide a checklist as a guide to the information condition reports can include.

REPORTING OVERVIEW
· Reporting
· Why assess ironwork?
· For whom?
· Report preparation
· When is assessment needed?
· Types of report
· Report writing
· Checklists
· Information gathering
· Decision point ‘triage’

To book for this webinar, please go to the NHIG website.

NOTE: Ticket pricing represents an introductory rate while we establish our online delivery programme.  All proceeds will support the NHIG’s education programme – trainers are volunteering their time free of charge.

The Bats in Churches project has announced a weekly live webinar series, which may be of interest to those involved in the care of churches:

Bats in Churches LIVE

Join us on Zoom every Wednesday in May at 13:00 BST for Bats in Churches LIVE, our free online discussion series. Come and chat to our fabulously well-informed, expert guest speakers to delve into the wonderful world of bats and churches. The perfect combo of learning and lunching!

6th May: Britain’s Bat Story

In this event, we’ll take a closer look at bats, the role they play in the ecosystem and how they live. We’ll be looking at how these mammals have fared over the last century and the protection we have in place to help them.

13th May: England’s Church Buildings – Treasure Houses of History
Our panel will explore the importance of the humble parish church looking at architecture, style and use. We will aim to give you some tips on what to look out for when visiting a church and how to make the most of your visit.

20th May: Understanding bats through their DNA
The project is making use of DNA in bat droppings to identify which bat species are using churches, but the study of DNA can help us to learn a lot more than this! We’ll be joined by expert guest speakers to explore current research and the secrets that the bat genome holds.

27th May: The Wonders of Church Wall Paintings
Our panel will explore the imagery of wall paintings, some of the most famous examples, why they were lost after the Reformation, and how they were eventually uncovered and conserved. We will also discuss how we are working with some churches in our project to protect their medieval wall paintings.

For more information, please visit the Bats in Churches website: https://batsinchurches.org.uk/events/bats-in-churches-live/

Date: Friday, 27 March 2020

Time: 12:00 to 18:00 (GMT)

Location: The Robertson Building Level 3 & 5, 56 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, G11 6AQ

YCCC Members are invited to attend.

For more information and to register for the event, click on this eventbrite link.

The Department for the History of Art at the University of York will be hosting a conference entitled:

Wall Painting Conservation and its Dilemmas in the Twenty-first Century: A Conference in Memory of Sharon Cather

16th-18th April, 2020

YCC Members are invited to attend.

The full programme, registration and other details of this conference in memory of Professor Sharon Cather are now online: https://www.york.ac.uk/history-of-art/news-and-events/events/2020/acommemorationofsharoncather

The YCCC Annual General Meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 16th 2020 at St Martin-cum-Gregory, Micklegate, York.

The speaker this year will be Jonathan Bryant, CEO of The York Conservation Trust.

Further details to follow…