Students studying traditional building skills have discussed the “honour” of constructing a new nature hide at the headquarters of a foundation established by King Charles.
The structure has been developed on the Dumfries House estate in East Ayrshire by students on the Building Craft and Conservation (BCP) programme, which is run by The King’s Foundation.
It is the 35th “live build” project by BCP students, coinciding with the foundation’s 35th anniversary.
The trainees build the hide over 13 weeks as part of a nine-month course that has seen them undertake training and work placements at a series of sites across the UK.
Students are learning skills such as plastering, joinery and heritage stone masonry.
The hide is located in a woodland area near the main house and is intended to provide a haven for visitors to spend quality time in nature.
The structure is inspired by the legend of Ghillie Dhu, a mythical being once thought to inhabit woodland near Loch a Druing in the Highlands, and who is said to have guided a little girl to safety when she got lost while out foraging.
It has a timber frame and an earth roof, and features intricate stone carvings, a woodcarved window, and ornate plasterwork depicting words and motifs from the story.
Jennie Regan took up stonemasonry after 15 years in University administration
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Jennie Regan, 45, who took up stonemasonry after 15 years in University administration, was responsible for carving the circular stone block at the centre of the hide’s floor.
Speaking the day before the hide was due to be completed, she explained: “We’ve got six stonemasons, a heritage brick layer, a couple of plasterers and three carpenters working on the site together.
“It’s very stone-heavy, so there’s a lot of rubble wall, a lot of carving of newel posts and the ramp and twists, so there’s lots of different elements to it.
“I’m currently carving a piece for the centre of the floor. It’s going to have some leaves and a phrase from the story.”
Aston Harrison-Taylor works on the decorative plaster panels
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Ms Regan, who comes from Somerset, said: “The lettering was ok, I think that will hold it nicely.
“As for the leaves that I’m carving, time will tell how they hold up.”
Aston Harrison-Taylor, 29, worked on the decorative plaster panels, which contain images and words from the Ghillie Dhu story.
He described working on the project for the Dumfries House estate as “wonderful”.
Mr Harrison-Taylor described the project as ‘wonderful’
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Mr Harrison-Taylor said: “The King came down about a month ago to come and do a few things here, and with a graduation for the last year’s group.
“He gave us some suggestions on craftsmen that he knew of… and just had a genuine appreciation for the sort of work we’re doing and the skills that we’re trying to learn here.”
The 29-year-old’s father and grandfather had worked as plasterers, and he enrolled to learn traditional plastering skills.
Mr Harrison-Taylor explained: “They’re much better for the environment. A large percentage of our houses in the country are still old houses, and they still need these methods.
“I’ve personally seen quite a lot of people using the wrong materials, whether it’s for a money reason or just out of ignorance for the materials, the wrong materials end up getting used.
“So it would be nice for us to have people who can learn and still use these materials.”
He added: “It’s a real honour to have something in [Dumfries] House that’s actually going to be a permanent structure here, which people will be able to come and enjoy for hopefully a long time.”
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