Shortly after the spring semester dust settled in College Park, Adjunct Associate Professor Dennis Pogue and Faculty Research Associate Kirsten Crase took six historic preservation students to UMD’s home across the pond: the majestic Kiplin Hall, situated in the rolling countryside of North Yorkshire, England. The students spent a month engaging the historic preservation program’s long-term survey of the former farm properties of Kiplin Estate, most of which were sold off in the early part of the 20th century. The group concentrated on the photographic documentation and structural measurement of two farmhouses and was able to collect oral histories from two additional property owners, one of whom spent his entire life on the estate.
When not at work, the crew branched out to the many historic and cultural relics of Yorkshire and Northern England. Two highlights included a visit to the Durham Cathedral, a thousand-year-old, Norman-era UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Tan Hill Pub, the highest pub in Great Britain. The group was also there to witness history in the making, watching the events leading up to the Brexit unfold. “We didn't always agree with the opinions we heard,” said Crase, “but it was fascinating nonetheless to hear the perspectives of rural North Yorkshire residents on this significant moment in British history.”
Joining UMD students this year were three students from the undergraduate historic preservation program at the University of Mary Washington, a new partnership UMD hopes to continue in the future.