THE VERSATILE FLINT . . .
"HARD TOFFEE" PUT TO USE IN
MUSEUM’S
LATEST HISTORIC BUILDING
One of the oldest natural materials used by man is being applied in the
latest historic building exhibit at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, Singleton,
near Chichester, West Sussex.
Flint is one of the most important features of the South Downs.
Long after it was first used to provide the earliest tools, its durable qualities as a
building material were recognised. Flint walls became a prominent part of the landscape in
the downland - which makes up half the region covered by England’s leading museum of
historic buildings. Today the stone is enjoying a renaissance, with increased interest in
its conservation and its use in modern housing schemes.
Flint walls and a flint-lined well are being reconstructed in
the latest project on the Museum’s 50-acre site. A rare survival from the days before
regular water supplies, the horse whim from West Kingsdown, Kent was
rescued from destruction by the Museum several years ago. A horse or donkey was used to
power a windlass for winding a rope to raise water from a well. The building which stood
over the wooden machinery was open on two sides and on the other two boarded on a wall
built of flint. Beneath its newly-thatched roof the structure is now receiving its flint
infill, giving museum visitors the chance to discover more about this fascinating stone.
Duncan Berry from specialist stonework company Berry-Middleton
Ltd of West Ashling, West Sussex is laying the flint with traditional lime mortar using
methods which have hardly changed in centuries. His work can be seen in buildings and
walls throughout southern England, and has included challenging restoration work at West
Dean College, adjacent to the Museum, which was built using specialist "knapped"
flints and fine "galletting".
Flints are always found in tandem with chalk. From about 3000 BC
they were gathered and mined by neolithic man to provide the raw material for tools for
local use and trade. Some of the best preserved flint mines in the country are in the
South Downs, especially at Cissbury, above Worthing. With the consistency of "hard
toffee" and easily broken and flaked, fresh flint could be formed to provide tools
for cutting food, chopping wood and stripping hides to provide clothing and shelter. When
flints were struck the sparks produced fire - so vital to man’s existence.
The Romans made use of the hardness and durability of flint in
their roads, walls and buildings, and local tradesmen used flint consistently up until the
mid-19th century. Throughout the Downs flint-built houses and walls blend
naturally with the flint-strewn fields around them.
Flint is a mixture of crystalline silica (quartz) and hydrated
silica (opal) formed from the remains of minute sea organisms with a skeleton of silica. A
white outer layer or cortex results from the chemistry between the flint and the
neighbouring chalk. It comes in a variety of colours although grey-black is most
widespread. By the late 16th century knapped squared flints began appearing,
requiring skilled working of individual flints by specialist tradesmen and by 1800
"galletting" was popular in which small slivers of flint were pressed into the
mortar between the flints for decoration. Both features can be seen at West Dean College
and Goodwood House, near Chichester.
Duncan Berry, who also works with other stone and on historic
roofs, gathers his flint for building from fields around his Compton, Chichester home.
Using his specialist knowledge he is able to collect the best quality examples. He is
following a tradition which lasted for centuries - stone picking was as vital for farmers
seeking clean fields for their crops as for local builders in search of raw materials.
Duncan Berry’s grandmother picked flints on the Eartham Estate, between Arundel and
Chichester, so he is following a family tradition too.
Duncan’s brother Jarrod also works for the company laying
flints, along with Mark Middleton. All three are in their 30’s and went to Compton
Primary School together. They are keen to pass on their skills to others and encourage
training, running courses themselves as well as tutoring students at specialist colleges.
Museum director Chris Zeuner is pleased to offer work
opportunities to specialist building conservation companies like Berry-Middleton, who also
demonstrate their skills on special days at the Museum for visitors. He adds "The
Museum illustrates well the reliance on locally-sourced natural materials for buildings of
all types in the days before industrialisation. Timber grown in local woods, local stone
and flint, bricks and tiles made in local yards, straw grown in the fields for thatch, and
daub and mortar using locally produced lime and the dung of farm animals - these made up
the world around our rural ancestors until the 19th century."
The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, designated by the
Government for the outstanding importance of its collections of historic buildings and
rural life, has several more rescued buildings awaiting reconstruction, including a
bakehouse from Newdigate, Surrey, built of local bricks; a timber-framed granary roofed in
Horsham slab from Ashurst, West Sussex and a dovecote from Wilmington, East Sussex, which
was built of flint and brick with nesting boxes made of chalk.
The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum is open daily from
10.30am - 6.00pm . Further information 01243 811363. Website www.wealddown.co.uk. Duncan
Berry can be contacted on 01243 528206/572454.
PICTURE CAPTIONS
John Lord demonstrating flint knapping at the Museum, using
skills dating back to neolithic times.
Duncan Berry laying flints at the Weald & Downland Open Air
Museum’s latest historic building project,
The Horse Whim from West Kingsdown.
