32 C O N T E X T 9 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 6 Conservation of the brick buildings uses cement rather than lime mortar. I am not sure what type of mortar was used originally, but the severe winter conditions could cause problems for lime mortars. The short summer period during which conservation can be undertaken would be reduced in useful length in order to give the lime mortar time to dry. Restored buildings suffer due to the severe winter weather and require regular maintenance to ensure their survival. This reduces the time available for the conservation of derelict buildings. The four months of good summer weather has to be used to its maximum benefit, resulting in what sometimes seems to outsiders like shortcuts. However, such responses are dictated by weather conditions and limited budgets. It is fortunate that the long hours of daylight during the white nights extend the working day considerably. What are the benefits of working in Russia or elsewhere in Europe? The first must be the new perspective it brings to your work at home, and a better understanding of the historical context within which we work. Historical links can also be found, such as the monastery being bombarded by British warships during the Crimean War. There are also many archive sources abroad which describe British developments in greater detail than anything published here. For instance, Prussian reports on British industry from around 1800 provide detailed drawings of the underground canal system in the coal mine at Worsley which are a far better source for understanding the operation of the mine than anything in Britain. Similar reports can be found in Russian archives. Formerly an engineer on restoration projects, Mike Clarke is now a self-employed industrial historian. Over the past ten years he has travelled extensively in Europe researching inland waterway history and technology transfer. One of the buildings formerly used for distilling Stockholm tar The water mill building in the monastery The ground floor of the mill after conservation, showing some of the fittings and machinery which survived The upper floor of the mill. It is typical of many brick buildings related to the monastery.
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