Earth: The Conservation and Repair of Bowhill, Exeter

Working with Cob

A publication of English Heritage

English Heritage Research Transactions, Volume 3

This volume is devoted to a seminal case study of the repair and conservation of an important building of earth construction. Bowhill, a Devon mansion of c 1500, is largely constructed in cob, a particular earth building technique common in Devon but also widespread in the rest of the world. The project to conserve and repair Bowhill, carried out by English Heritage in the early 1990s, helped raise regional and national levels of awareness regarding earth building in general and showed that it is possible to repair cob construction successfully without resorting to alternative materials.

This study is of particular interest to those concerned with the maintenance and protection of earth buildings of every type, age and location, and to those studying construction techniques. Main topics covered: • Earth Building • Mixing Cob and Daub; making cob blocks • Building the new cob cross-wall • Cob repairs • Daub repairs, renders and plasters

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