Baker Memorial Lecture

The Baker Memorial Lecture is an annual event, held by the Building Limes Forum in memory of Professor Robert and Eve Baker, who pioneered the revival of the use of lime for the repair of historic buildings in the UK with their work on the conservation of the west front of Wells Cathedral between 1975 and 1984. The Baker Memorial Lectures is given by somebody eminent in the world of lime and can take any aspect of lime as the theme: lime in conservation, lime in traditional building skills, lime for sustainability, or lime in the life of the speaker.

The 2010 Baker Memorial Lecture will be given by Ingval Maxwell OBE, former head of Technical Conservation, Research and Education at Historic Scotland and a key figure in the lime revival in Scotland.

Previous Baker Memorial Lectures have been given by:

2009: Rory Young, sculptor, stone carver and modeller in plaster. Rory's aim in his traditional and figurative design work, as in his conservation work, is to honour a building, or place, by enhancing its existing qualities, and adding to its cultural significance.

2008: Dr Peter Burman MBE FSA, is Professor of Cultural Heritage Management at the Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus, where he is attached to the World Heritage Studies Centre within the Department of Architecture. He is an architectural historian, trained also in conservation theory and philosophy at ICCROM (Rome), author and speaker on a wide range of conservation-related topics.

2007: Professor Tom Woolley, architect and author, and a leading commentator on issues of sustainable construction. He is editor of The Green Building Handbook, author of Natural Building: A Guide to Materials and Techniques and Hemp and Lime Construction. He was Professor of Architecture at Queen's University, Belfast, 1991-2001 and is Visiting Professor of Architecture at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales and at UiTM in Malaysia.

2006: Tom Lloyd, author of The Lost Houses of Wales, a survey of the country houses in Wales demolished since 1900 (London, 1986).

2004: Oliver Barratt, fomer Director of the Cockburn Association (The Edinburgh Civic Trust) and founder of the Cockburn Conservation Trust, one of the first revolving fund building preservation trusts. He has served on many conservation bodies in Scotland and the north of England. He lives in the Lake District.

2003: Michael Wingate, architect and author. Oversaw the restoration of the tower of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds. Co-author with Stafford Holmes of Building with Lime, the indispensible guide to the use of lime in building.

2001: Pat Gibbons, founder and first director of the Scottish Lime Centre Trust, which provides specialist advice, materials analysis services and practical training for the repair of traditional masonry buildings. Architect with many years experience of building conservation in Scotland, much of it gained whilst working with Historic Scotland.