By Jean Kingdon
South Shropshire craftsmen working in a land made legend by Hammer Horror Films this week reported that there were no werewolves but one team member did see a wolf!
The building restoration craftsmen have just returned from Transylvania in Romania. They were working to conserve the traditional Saxon heritage and tutoring would-be artisans.
Ken Milloy, from Ludlow, and Phil Steventon, from Brimfield, teamed up with John Lansdell, from Longnor, and ‘Treasures of Ludlow’ carpenters Andy Greatwich and Greig Smith to restore an ancient church and farm buildings near the village of Viscri in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains.
The team is led by Colin Richards, conservation officer for South Shropshire District Council and members are using hand tools and locally available materials.
An old timber barn that had sunk into a marsh is being raised and then restored under the guidance of Clee Hill archaeologist Glynn Barratt. A second group helped conserve the fortifications of a medieval church and rebuild a collapsed defensive tower with the help of SSDC building inspector John Marston, a former stone mason .
The third element of the project is the undertaking of an archaeological dig below the town walls of the citadel at Sighiosara.
“Everything went exceptionally well,” said Mr Richards. “It was very hot there and we were working at the three sites. The archaeological dig has found a lot of pottery, some of it dating back to the sixteenth century.
“We have managed to lift the barn out of the marsh and it’s remarkably well preserved. There are four local youngsters working with us and they are doing well. No, we haven’t seen any werewolves – but fellow worker Stephen Treasure did see a wolf!”
