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  • Lime

    An understanding of lime is fundamental to the repair and long-term protection of our historic buildings. Lime-based materials are also emerging into the mainstream within low-carbon construction systems.

  • Windows and Doors

    Old windows and doors bring texture and life to many old buildings, helping to stir our spirits and perceptions, but they are threatened as never before. This Briefing aims to encourage a better understanding of these valuable assets.

  • Reflecting on Scottish Mills Weekend 2022

    As SPAB Scotland prepares for another fantastic Scottish Mills Weekend this May, we’re looking back on some of the wonderful mills featured in last year’s event.

  • Building in Focus: Chastleton House

    Chastleton House is full of history and intrigue, writes Julie Charlesworth, our SPAB garden volunteer who has also been volunteering at this National Trust property since 2010.

  • Building in Focus: All Saints, Dunkeswell

    The Victorian church of All Saints Dunkeswell is set among the ruins of a medieval abbey in a green and tranquil river valley in the Blackdown Hills, Devon.

  • Turning the taps back on: repairing and reusing water fountains

    It's World Water Day. With so many drinking fountains falling into disrepair, Kathryn Ferry looks at how some authorities have reinstated them for the good of the community. 

  • Grade II* almshouses in Nottinghamshire threatened by controversial development plans

    Broxtowe Council looks set to agree damaging plans to redevelop the Grade II* listed Willoughby Almshouses in the centre of Cossall, Nottinghamshire, in a move that will see their unique character destroyed. 

  • Fulbourn Windmill, Cambridgeshire

    Built in 1808, Fulbourn Mill is an octagonal smock mill with 3 sets of millstones, standing about four miles East of Cambridge. The Mill closed in 1937 and fell into a state of disrepair.

  • Could you help shape the SPAB’s future as a trustee?

    The SPAB has a vacancy for a voluntary trustee. We are keen to hear from a SPAB member or supporter who could bring fresh skills and experience to the Board. Particularly welcome would be interest from candidates at an early point i

  • Rescuing Listed Buildings at Risk

    Rescuing Listed Buildings at Risk Architectural historian and SPAB member, Jennifer Freeman, joins us to look at three fascinating case studies of rescuing listed buildings at risk through her company, Freeman Properties Ltd. 

  • William Morris and the campaign to save St Mary’s aisle

    Judith Field, Fundraising Lead at Truro Cathedral, explores one of the SPAB's earliest campaigns, opposing the demolition of the sixteenth-century St Mary’s Church to make way for a grand new cathedral.

  • Athelhampton Kitchen

    The Refurbishment of the Elizabethan Kitchen at Athelhampton Member Giles Keating joins us to share an owner's view of the refurbishment of the kitchen at Athelhampton, the Grade I listed Elizabethan manor in Dorset.

  • London Metropolitan University students reimagine SPAB Head Office

    As part of our ongoing outreach work, we recently welcomed first-year Interior Design students from London Metropolitan University School of Art, Architecture and

  • Willoughby Almshouses: campaign update

    Following a successful legal challenge by the SPAB, Broxtowe Council has agreed that listed building consent for an insensitive redevelopment scheme to Willoughby Almshouses was invalid.    

  • From the Archives: The George Inn, Southwark

    It’s St George’s Day, so it feels only right to share the George Inn – London’s only surviving galleried coaching inn.    

  • National Mills Weekend

    The National Mills Weekend is an annual celebration promoted by the Mills Section of SPAB.  

  • Buildings in Focus: Coronation Edition

      Tomorrow's coronation route will be brimming with pomp, circumstance and crowds, but what fascinating architectural details might you spot if you look away from the throng?   

  • Can we pull 'critically endangered' millwrighting back from the brink?

    Mildred Cookson, Chair of the SPAB Mills Section, reflects on how millwrighting has changed over the years and how we might keep this critically endangered craft alive. 

  • The community-driven project breathing new life into John O’Groats Mill

    The John O’Groats Mill Trust has been awarded approximately £1.6 million by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) in support of a community

  • Helping to keep a critically endangered craft alive

    Daniel Cheetham, carpenter and SPAB Millwright Fellow 2023, reflects on how he became involved with millwrighting, a critically endangered craft. 

  • Damp problems in brick windmill towers

  • Weatherboarding

    Most windmills and many watermills in England were originally covered with wooden weatherboarding to protect their timber framing from the elements. This technical guide provides guidance on how to undertake weatherboarding on mills today.

  • SPAB Scholars: what stories can this old chapel tell?

    Laura Brain, Architectural Assistant and 2023 SPAB Scholar, explores a lively debate sparked by a visit to Walpole Old Chapel in Suffolk.

  • Get involved with SPAB Cymru / Dewch i gydweithio gyda SPAB Cymru

    Last year's Working Party at St Marys Church Caerau, Cardiff, prompted exciting discussions about the start of SPAB Cymru.

  • Glossary of mill terms

    In 1996 Tony Yoward created a glossary to provide a standard definition of mill terms to enable expressions to be understood. While other terms have since come to light, this glossary remains the basis on which later versions are built.