Celebrating Professional Growth: Kevin Bashford Achieves His MSc in Building Conservation
8th April 2026
At MacConvilles, we’re proud to support professional development and specialist skills, so we’re delighted to congratulate Kevin Bashford on achieving his MSc in Building Conservation (Pass with Merit). Alongside his day‑to‑day work, Kevin returned to study at the Weald & Downland Living Museum and carried out in‑depth research at Herstmonceux Castle. Here, he shares his experience juggling work and study, what he learned along the way, and how it’s shaped his view of our built heritage.
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Returning to Study: Taking on an MSc in Building Conservation
When I embarked on the MSc in Building Conservation at The Weald & Downland Museum two years ago, I did so with a fair amount of trepidation. Having not studied at MSc level for more than 25 years, would my grey matter still cope with the demands of learning, studying, and fitting in coursework around my regular day job? I needn’t have worried. The course has flown by and the decision to just dive in and give it a go feels vindicated.
The Museum’s courses, which are affiliated to the University of York, are structured to allow working professionals and trades people to study for an MSc with minimal time away from work. With 6 teaching modules of 5 days (Wednesday-Sunday), the blocks took only 18 days out of my work diary over two years. The teaching days were long, and it was pretty tiring going straight back into a working week the Monday after, but the surrounds of the open-air museum were inspiring. The guest lecturers were interesting and knowledgeable, with many experts in their chosen field. Site visits and practical demonstrations were mixed in with lectures to create balance and sustain interest. I particularly enjoyed the on-site brick making, lime repointing and lead bossing, as well as the site walk with a master thatcher who was clearly made for thatching with hands like shovels! I found interest in areas I previously knew little about, such as flint galletting (the building technique of inserting fragments of flints into the mortar surrounding larger flints in walls), which was taken to amazing levels of intricacy on the buildings of West Dean College.
The final assignment, the 15,000-word dissertation, was probably the part I was most dreading, as my previous incarnation as a Politics graduate required a trudge through the Maastricht Treaty and political theory (don’t ask!). Thankfully, Valley Builders and Archer Stone came to my rescue and the restoration of Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex provided an amazing case study which owners Bader College were happy for me to adopt as my thesis. Going to site and recording the careful and considered restoration of the southern gatehouse and battlements of this Scheduled Monument was never a chore and the write up was almost enjoyable compared with previous dissertations!
When I started out on the course, apart from an MSc, I’m not sure what I was hoping for at the end of it to be honest. Certainly, I was interested in older buildings and wanted to learn more. Part of me was interested to see if my brain still worked and I could learn new things. I didn’t expect every word of every lecture to be absorbed, and I didn’t expect to become an overnight expert. I think what I took away from the course is a greater appreciation of our built heritage and what is around us, often on our very doorsteps. I’m now more likely to look up when I’m walking down a high street or go and seek out an old tithe barn when I’m on holiday. We are so lucky in this country to have such a rich heritage and while I may have only just scratched the surface, there is no doubt that I’m now more aware, interested, and appreciative of what is around me. Massive thanks to MacConvilles for supporting me and all the staff, lecturers and fellow students who made it an enjoyable journey.
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