FEATURES
PROJECTS
The turf farm complex at Tyrfingsstaðir
We also operate an archaeological research
facility including field survey, excavation
workshops and post finds analysis.
Our core theme relates to depicting and
preserving the rich social history
surrounding the Caithness flagstone
industry, a key element of which was the
Castlehill Flagstone Works in Castletown.
Our activities include running highly popular
hands-on vernacular skills workshops
relating to the built environment, such as
dry stone dyking using local Caithness
flagstone, and lime mortar pointing, the
latter being run in conjunction with the
Scottish Lime Centre Trust.
The CHIST Iceland programme
presented a well-focused opportunity to
support training and development in my
‘spare time’ interests, especially as the aims
and objectives of the Fornverkaskólinn
Heritage Craft School are remarkably
consistent with those of CHS.
The core theme of the seven day
programme was the restoration and
preservation of traditional Icelandic turf
buildings. We spent an intensive two days
learning basic turf cutting and building
restoration skills, putting them into practice
Cutting torfur and strengur
Internal passages within the Tyrfingsstaðir farmhouse
at Tyrfingsstaðir, a farm complex in northern
Iceland dating from the late 19th to early
20th century. The restoration of the farm
complex is being undertaken by the
Skagafjorður Heritage M \