Cob Work
The interior cob wall, which divides the open space from a small kitchen and store, was begun as a solid mass on the first 4 courses, but once it rose above head height it was no longer safe for the tamping and the stamping required. Our cob is a mix of clay, material cleared from the site and straw, all mixed together by a digger and then sorted by hand to remove anything larger than a small pebble. At the start, it was applied a little at a time in handfuls and then trod on to bed in.
In July, attention shifted to the production of cob bricks, tamped and stamped into preset forms, carefully tipped out and set onto drying racks. A number of groups mustered together to see to this, anyone and everyone who just happened to be passing, and we had work parties from the National Park Authority, from youth groups staying at the High Wray Basecamp and from Trust staff, families and friends. It was great fun but slow going, nevertheless over 1500 bricks were made this way, so that the wall could be taken to roof height by NT masons.
With additional support from the Lake District National Park's Sustainable Development fund, we purchased a further 600 cob bricks to see the job finished. These came from a supplier in Devon using earth coloured by the local sandstone, creating a bright red contrast to our brown earth coloured bricks! They have been plastered over now, but we are putting in a truth window so visitors will be able to see the story in the strata.
