Held in Merchant Taylors hall the 2017 annual dinner was a fantastic evening enjoyed by all.

On the 26th of September the guild had a fantastic visit to look at the works being carried out on the Micklegate Bar Walls and learn a little about its history. We are all grateful to Chris Cullwick for organizing this and John Oxley for carrying out the tour.

Photos form the recent Guild Visit to the North east, visiting Bishop Aukland, Kynren and Beamish.

Photos from the recent Assize of Ale.

​On the 12th of September the guild had a tour of the Drax power plant, this was both very enjoyable and informative, Starting this year’s calendar of events with a high.

​Well is seems so long since Sally hung the chain of office round my neck and I entered into the world of being Master of the York Guild of Building. Folk keep saying how eventful the year is and how it is difficult to prepare yourself for. In my short time as Master I wholeheartedly agree.

I suppose my first event, as Master, was being invited to the livery dinner at the Merchant Taylors Hall, I was a bit apprehensive as I'm not very keen on liver but the Master, Robert Porter, was very welcoming and the speaker was interesting talking about the Army's action in dealing with the Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone. I was introduced to something called a loving cup. This is a communal cup of wine passed around the table where the neighbour of the drinker has to protect the back of the person drinking. This was made quite sinister when the army speaker picked up a knife from the table to assist with the task!

The following day was glorious and I helped giving out prizes for the Blades Cup at Fulford Golf Club followed by an excellent meal and some great company.

The Scouts / Guides activity day went off very well helped by good weather. We had 22 participants in 5 teams and each team built their own oven. All were successful though 2 partially collapsed when the formwork was removed, one of which was caused by Noel and so didn’t really count. The 2 teams with the collapsed ovens soon loosely rebuilt their ovens and all ovens were fired up with great success. Pizzas were cooked in all ovens and were enjoyed by all including myself, Thanks must go to York College for the loan of benches and tools, to York Handmade Brick Company for the bricks and Houghton’s for the formwork used by the teams. A good fun day enjoyed by all.
​John Niklaus

This year, as Master of the Guild, Sally set in motion a trio of talks that took place at York College. It has been a brilliant event which has also strengthened the ties between the Guild and York College, something we are keen to keep doing, as the students their are the future of the construction industry. Yesterday, saw the last talk take place; James Newton gave a very informative and interesting talk on straw bale construction.

As a student at the School of Natural Building (SNaB), James has been involved with sustainable building and permaculture for years now, and in particular is keen to promote and educate others on the benefits of  straw bale construction.

A project he is involved in currently is the community housing group, YorSpace. Their aim is to "develop low cost, cooperatively owned, environmentally sustainable homes that create & sustain a community."  With this in mind they are looking to eventually construct the homes in Straw Bale, following suit from other community housing schemes such as Lilac, in Leeds. For more information on the YorSpace you can click  here to go to their website.

In other news, last nights talk also saw Moray Weston receive his Silver Student medal for his work in Stone Masonry. During the Masters Dinner in November, Sally awarded two other students with Bronze medals. Moray could not make it that night, so it was yesterday that he finally received his medal for his outstanding work at York College. It was great to hear what projects he is now currently involved in and York Guild of Building takes pride in acknowledging exceptional craftsmen and women in this industry. 

From informative talks, furthering the involvement of students within the Guild and highlighting the outstanding achievements of those students, the talks in conjunction with York College have been a great event this year during Sally Walkers term as Master of the York Guild of Building.

The other week we had 'Treemendous York' give a talk for the Guild.  Treemendous York consists of a number of experts and enthusiastic individuals representing the community and working together to plant trees throughout the City. Below is more information about the groups activities within the community. 

Our dear friend Tony Neal passed away at York Hospital. His funeral will be held on Friday 24th February, with the service held at All Saints Church, at 10am.

Tony was an active member and friend to the Guild for many years. He served as Master of the Guild in 1995 and since then has been involved in various ways in assisting at Guild events and activities, particularly as our photographer.

Tony will also be sadly missed by the Civic Party as he actively supported them throughout their busy year, recording every aspect of their duties in civic life.