2004 TTRAG Conference

The 13th Annual Conference of the Traditional Timberframe Research and Advisory Group (TTRAG) will feature noted author and timber frame historian Richard Harris as the keynote speaker.

Mr. Harris is the Director of the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex, and for 23 years has been responsible for developing the research and interpretation of the exhibits at England's leading museum of historic buildings. The Museum has developed an international reputation for the quality of its work in the building conservation field, and has pioneered new techniques in dismantling and re-erecting historic vernacular buildings. It also has a leading program in building conservation training and one of the biggest libraries in the world devoted to vernacular architecture.

Mr. Harris is the author of Discovering Timber Frame Buildings, an indispensable introduction to the subject of timber framing. At this conference he will address the nagging confusion among American experts concerning the definition of an "English" barn. He will describe the usage, layout and framing patterns of barns in England and the chronological development and regional forms of roof and wall framing, and compare them to American patterns. This will be a rare opportunity to explore our roots firsthand with one of the leaders in the field.

Other presenters include:

• Jan Lewandoski on the reconstruction of Yin Yu Tang, an 18th-century Chinese merchants house now open to the public at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. (Take a virtual tour of the house and its timber frame at www.pem.org/yinyutang; those driving to Conference from the south could actually visit the site as it's not far out of the way, just north of Boston).
• Richard Candee, Director of Preservation at Boston University, will offer opening remarks
• Jim Garvin of the New Hampshire Division of Historic Resources will tell us of the timber yards on Great Bay that supplied frames up and down the East Coast in colonial America
• Tad Baker, archaeologist, will show us artifacts and the history of the Chadbourne House and water-powered sawmill (www.salemstate.edu/~ebaker/chadbourne.htm), a dig which presents a rich picture of life in southern Maine in the mid-1600s.
• Victor Wright, master of slate and copper, and Rod Bishop, mason, will team up to talk about flashing around chimneys and round posts.
• Steve Card from the Northeast Lumber Manufacturers Association (NELMA) will demonstrate timber grading.
• John Butler and Arron Sturgis will show us how to do assessments and archival recording of barns.

These presentations will occur on Friday night, and Saturday and Sunday morning.

Tour of Historic Portsmouth

From late Saturday morning through the afternoon, we will board busses to tour nearby historic Portsmouth, starting with the Woodward Lumber Mill, which includes a 30-by-100 foot English tie-beam barn. After a box lunch we will head to the Strawbery Banke area and the Portsmouth harbor. Portsmouth claims to be America's third oldest city, and its waterfront the best preserved in its original form.

Here you will be able to tour numerous houses and gardens that show period tools, building methods and archaeology. Sites include: the Jackson House (1664 - First Period), the Moffatt Ladd house (1762), the Warner House (1725), St. John's Church (scissor truss), and the Wentworth Gardner House (1760-timber framed with hip roof). We will return to our digs at the New England Center for dinner and the Slide Show on Saturday night. Everyone is encouraged to bring ten images of their work; submission details will be included with your confirmation material after you register.

A pre-Conference tour of a recently reconstructed barn at the Sanborn Mills in Loudon, New Hampshire is scheduled for Friday afternoon (details with your confirmation). This would be especially convenient for people driving in from the north or west.

HOTEL AND MEALS

Located less than an hour from the Manchester (NH) airport and just over an hour from Boston's Logan airport, the New England Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham offers us a site with a full service hotel, state-of-the-art technology, and award-winning meals, all in a wooded setting. This year room and meals are included in your conference registration fee, although you may also register as a commuter if you wish to make your own arrangements for lodging. Conference fees include the bus transportation on Saturday and all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch; we cannot adjust the rates if you wish to eat elsewhere.

There are a number of rooming options: the highest discount is given for those who wish to share a room. Please indicate who you wish to room with if you know; if not indicate you would like a roommate and we will assign you one and give you their contact information. Single rooms are also available at the Center for a higher rate. Single or double rooms (one queen or king bed) are also available at a lower rate at the nearby Three Chimneys Inn, just a few miles away.

For those looking to share rides to the Conference, please visit our newest feature: the Rideboard.