The first work weekend of the year saw a concerted effort to prepare the site for the forthcoming season's work. Wood stocks around the site were reorganised, as wood suitable for different purposes was sorted and rationalised, and the site was tidied.
Land clearance continued, and clay was prepared for future use in daub.
Many landmarks were reached this weekend.
All hands were needed on deck in order to transport a batch of several thousand new shingles from delivery van to hall, where they await scalloping and eventual fitting. Some of them were put to good use, as the shingling team reached the ridge of the longhall roof for the first time. This brings this labour intensive process still closer to completion.
The woodworkers concentrated on making the first set of doors for the longhall.
The walling team completed the daubing on the ground level panels of the hall, and an improvised 'bottoming out' ceremony was held to celebrate this. They progressed to the upper panels for the first time, daubing at height from scaffolding.
The palisade crew neared completion of the first stage of the palisade, hindered only by a lack of suitable nails.
In addition work was done to repair thatch on the cottage, and a morning's work with mattock and spade saw the ground immediately in front and to the side of the hall levelled.
The front doors that were prepared over Easter were finished with the insertion of dowelling rods to secure them together. Hinges, which had been made in advance by a member of the society, were prepared by oiling and heating, and attached. Finally the doors were ready to be hung from a separate frame.
The pallisading team had cause to celebrate, as they finished the first stage of work on the heavy oak fence that surrounds the burgh, making a complete circuit. All that remains is to fix plates along the front of the palisade, and to complete the infill.
Several panels of the older, less successful daub mix were removed, and a start was made on re-daubing them. Shingling and land clearance continued.
The weekend before the main work session a small team commenced plastering the hall. Using a mix of lime plaster and horse hair, they applied the first layer of plaster to three sections of the wall.
Only one full day of work was possible, due to filming commitments on the Sunday.
Large amounts of daubing were completed - as many sections were daubed in one day as are normally achieved in an entire weekend. The first panels were completed at window height, at the highest level of the hall. Some panels erected using a less successful version of the mixture (which did not contain essential cow dung) were replaced with the newer material. Battens were placed in the frame for the back porch, in preparation for daubing.
Various woodworking projects continued apace. Work was done to widen the bridges across the moat, and boards were fitted to the front porch. Hinges for the next set of doors were heat treated over an open fire and prepared for fitting.
Work was also done clearing land of weeds and pine needle drop and planting a wild flower mix at the back of the hall, and more shingling was completed.
A range of activities was carried out over this weekend. A second team embarked upon shingling the front roof, allowing phenomenal amounts of shingling to be completed. Valuable work was done to clear the land of the needle drop and fern growth from the previous month.
The last of the barge boards were fitted to the front porch, along with decorated verge boards. Woodworkers also finished a bridge across the moat, and worked on a side door to the hall. Work was also started on the gatehouse, as timbers were prepared on the ground.
The walling team also made progress in several areas. Panels were daubed at either end of the hall, some older panels were replaced, and much the back porch was battened and daubed. A team also got to work on plastering – two tons of lime plaster were delivered on the Friday, and by the end of the weekend several sections had been plastered.
This was another week of landmarks for the project. The shingling team finished nailing shingles onto the entire front half of the hall's roof, and also finished shingling the back porch. A delivery of over 2000 new shingles arrived half way through the week, ensuring that there will be plenty of supplies for the shinglers to carry on the good work.
The walling team also had cause to celebrate - the daubers daubed the final panels, completeing the construction of the walls. A small plastering team made good progress, getting a first layer of plaster onto the front of the hall, and make a start on one side.
The woodworkers completed and fitted a frame for what will be one of the windows at the gable end of the hall, and completed and fitted the back and side doors. Their work included heat treating and fitting some more of the hinges for the doors.
Away from the burgh much work was being done. A small team went off site to learn traditional thatching skills. They made an excellent start renewing the thatch on the cottage. The ground clearing team had access to some of the new land, and made good progress beginning to clear it of pine.
Film work took up much of Saturday, which entailed clearning and dressing part of the hall. In the remaining time however, we could start settling the building for the winter. More sarking boards were cut and fitted to the roof, and fresh tarpaulin stretched over parts that were not protected by shingles. Thatching on the cottage continued apace, protecting more of this structure. The second large oak window frame was completed, ready for installation on the north gable wall. The plastering of this gable also continued at speed, helped by the cement mixer.
The palisaders lowered some sections of the structure, and started backfilling, raising the level of the ground at the base of the palisade.
Work progressed in a variety of different areas this weekend. The re-thatching of the cottage was completed. The palisaders made great progress after a solid weekend of backfilling, many more shingles were nailed to the roof, and the trees felled in the new area during the work week were processed.
The plasterers put a second coat on the front of the hall up to the porch, and completed plastering some of the inside of the porch. We also perfected the technique for turning some of the scrap wood on the site into charcoal.
Much of the focus of this weekend was on preparing the site for the winter. As well as the now customary site tidy, the hall was protected a little more from the weather by the completion of the sarking of the roof, and the covering of any areas still to be shingled with sturdy black plastic. The trapezoid gap above the tie beam, at the north end of the hall was filled with rebated planks, rendering the hall still warmer and more sheltered.
Elsewhere more scrap oak was turned into charcoal, more pine was felled, much of the front of the hall received a second layer of plaster, and more clay was shifted to revett the palisade.