Following progress in my research

I am almost halfway through the research on my dissertation. I thought it might be helpful to keep a blog of the progress of my study. It gives me a chance to put down in writing some of the things I have found and some of the thoughts that I have. In the end they may find their way into the final dissertation.

The topic of the study is a little specialised, but that is the nature of the course that I am studying: Conservation of the Historic Environment at the College of Estate Management. The title of the dissertation is 'The Care and Maintenance of Historic Copper Roofing'.

Why choose this subject. Well, it is a material that I have specified from time to time in my work and like many people (though not all) I like the green colour of patinated copper and the way it brightens up the roofscape of many towns and cities. I did some initial investigation of the use of the material last year and found that little had been written on the history of its use or how it should be maintained. There also seemed to be some contradiction in conservation practice of copper roofing - common to many roof coverings - of a willingness to scrap the whole covering as soon as problems arise, a decision often aided by the particular characteristics of copper. This lack of general interest and seemingly unfashionability in its conservation peeked my interest and set me on the path of the study.