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Thanks to the help and expertise of many members SVBWG hosted the annual spring conference of the Vernacular Architecture Group (VAG) very successfully.
Based at Stirling University from 9-12 June the programme included day visits to a wide range of buildings with evening lectures at the University. The conference kicked off with a lecture by Prof Richard Oram, University of Stirling, who set the scene for the 58 delegates with his lecture on ‘Living in a Cold, Wet Climate: Environment, Materials and Vernacular Buildings in Scotland’. Day visits were made to: Stirling’s old town and a personalised tour of Stirling Castle; the following – very wet – day to Innerpeffray Library and Chapel, Killin village, Moirlanich Longhouse and Castle Menzies; and on the final day to Bannockburn House, Culross village and Palace and Sauchie Tower.
The other evening lectures were given by Tom Morton, Director Arc Architects, on ‘Patterns of Place in Scottish Built Culture’, Stephen Jackson, National Museums Scotland and SVBWG Committee, on ‘A Vernacular Furniture Tour of Scotland’ and on the final evening Lena Sideri, PhD student, spoke on ‘The Future of Vernacular Buildings’.
As part of preparations for the VAG conference held 9-12 June 2026, SVBWG arranged a trip to one of the venues for the VAG conference – Culross in Fife. This provided an opportunity for those not attending the conference to visit this historic site, and was also used as a planning day for the VAG event. We had a walking tour of the village, organised for us by long-time members James Simpson OBE and Geoffrey Stell, Founder-Secretary and one-time Chair. A dozen members met up in Culross on Sunday 19 April and, ably guided by James Simpson, had a thoroughly interesting walk with plenty of stimulating discussion.
