Conferences
The Group's conferences are where members meet to study buildings and discuss their findings. Conferences are normally open to members only, although guests may be accepted if space is available - please see the Membership page for details of how to join the group.
Lists of past VAG conferences can be found on the Previous Conferences page.
Winter Conferences
The winter conference takes a theme of current interest and explores it in depth through papers given by experts in the field. Bursaries are normally available for students or early career professionals to enable their attendance at the conference. Conference enquiries: please email winter-conference@vag.org.uk.
The next winter conference will be on the theme Pioneers in vernacular architecture: examining the legacy of English Vernacular Houses, Houses of the Welsh Countryside and other early scholars, and will take place on 4 and 5 January 2025 at College Court, University of Leicester. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of two seminal works in vernacular architectural studies - Eric Mercer's English Vernacular Houses and Peter Smith's Houses of the Welsh Countryside which were both published in 1975. The first day of the conference will examine the context for the writing and publication of these two volumes, and the impact and legacy of their work. The second day will broaden out the discussion to include other scholars of the period, particularly those who were working beyond the academic or institutional mainstream, and move onto consider the implications of their research for the future of the study of vernacular architecture.
We welcome papers looking at the impact and legacy of the work of Mercer and Smith and/or the work of other, perhaps less well-known, scholars of the period. For further details please see the Call for Papers which is open until 31 August 2024.
Training Conferences
The Vernacular Architecture Group offers occasional short weekend conferences aimed at those who are new to looking at vernacular buildings and/or would like the opportunity to learn more. The format is based on visits to buildings rather than papers. There is an emphasis on introducing people to examining buildings, covering basic vocabulary, some of the typical forms of vernacular buildings and how we go about investigating them. The latest conference in 2023 focused on buildings in Ashwell, a small village in Hertfordshire full of fascinating buildings, visited as part of the VAG Spring Conference in 2017. We hope to offer further training conferences in future years. Conference enquiries: please email training-conference@vag.org.uk.
Members' Meetings
Since 2021, we have held an online members' meeting annually in October. This takes the format of 10-20 minute papers being given over Zoom, on any topic related to vernacular buildings of members' choosing, perhaps highlighting a specific building, raising a problem or question, or exploring a theme.
Spring Conferences
In the spring members and guests meet in a different part of the country each year to visit a selection of buildings in the local vernacular tradition. Local experts are on hand to explain the background and more experienced members help others to interpret them. In the evenings, lectures and discussions allow the day's findings to be explored further. Bursaries are usually offered each year to enable a registered student or a professional in the early years of his or her career to attend the spring conference. Conference enquiries: please email spring-conference@vag.org.uk. Our next spring conference will be in Wiltshire in 2025.
Other Conferences and Visits
Other VAG visits include trips to Maine in France in 2016, Denmark in 2014, Norway in 2011 and North America in 2004.
