Building a new tradition

December 15, 2025 | Holkham voices | 3 minute read

After securing a place on The King’s Foundation’s Building Craft Programme, Paul Youngs is learning traditional skills which will support the conservation and repair of Holkham’s historic buildings.

It was a lucky chance conversation that sparked Holkham Building and Maintenance Team  member Paul Youngs’ application for The King’s Foundation’s Building Craft Programme.

The highly prestigious eight-month course selects just 12 people from across the UK to learn skills which will help to pass traditional skills on to the next generation of master craftspeople.

“After graduating in 2000, I retrained as a bricklayer and worked on newbuilds before  specialising in church restoration,” says Paul. “I later joined Holkham where I work across the estate’s historic buildings. Someone mentioned The King’s Foundation programme to me and I thought I would apply to further my skills.

After putting forward my application and portfolio, I was delighted to secure an interview at Highgrove and to subsequently be awarded a position, the first bricklayer in four years. Holkham has been very supportive and kindly suggested a sabbatical to enable me to take up my place which leads to a Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Heritage Skills.”

Paul brick cutting at Dumfries house

The Building Craft Programme commenced with an intensive Summer School held at the Dumfries House estate in Scotland. “We covered a variety of subjects including life and landscape drawing, stonemasonry carving, decorative plasterwork, earth building, tile vaulting and geometry,” says Paul.

“The course corresponds with how the different trades work alongside architecture and it has really opened my mind to new areas. “For example, tile vaulting is a Catalan technique used to create huge curved arches, typically seen in vaults or domed buildings. I found it fascinating and enjoyed working out the levels and bonding required for the artistic curves, which can be challenging to achieve.

“I was less fond of earth building, an ancient practice which uses unfired earth as a sustainable building material often used to build cob houses. Mixing the clay and straw is a messy, arduous process.

“The Summer School was followed by a live project to build a new bird hide at Dumfries House. In mid-August I began an industry placement at Walpole Old Chapel near Halesworth in Suffolk with Cliveden Conservation. The Grade II listed building is on the Heritage at Risk Register and we are using a traditional lath and haired air lime render to reinforce the chapel’s timber frame.”

One of the benefits of Paul’s participation in the Building Craft Programme is that many of the skills he learns will contribute to Holkham’s future custodianship. “There is a strong link between the programme and Holkham’s commitment to sustainable practices,” adds Paul. “For example, the lime mortar process used to repair buildings at Holkham works well, but I’ve gained more knowledge which can contribute to future projects and enable us to keep these types of specialist repairs in-house. “Restoring and preserving the architecture at Holkham is so important and if we don’t look after the buildings we will lose an important part of history. The skills I am learning on the programme mean we can use the correct methods and techniques to keep these valuable assets alive, and I am so proud to be able to contribute to their preservation.”