Rare Ctesiphon Hut Found In Fife

More exciting than you might think, since these things are rarer than Hen's teeth; think I'm right in saying the only other known one in the UK is on an airfield in England.
Invented by the Waller Housing Corporation in 1943, these were made by stretching Hessian over a temporary light steel frame, then spraying concrete over it to a depth of about four inches. When dry, gables and windows were added, and the frame removed. This gives the roof its distinctive "covered wagon" look.
This one is near the former RN base at Rosyth; I'm being deliberately vague because people are trying to have this listed as a scheduled ancient monument, and it would be tragic if the vandals got there first. Well, they have, but only a bit of grafitti so far.
The hut has been in its current location since 1949, and is known to have been moved twice before that. These things are fragile by definition, so I would imagine Historic Scotland won't be relishing the idea of relocating it, but they might have to if it's going to survive much longer.
Unfortunately, the roof has a split all the way through it, and all the way round, halfway down it's length. You can actually see daylight through it, so it's going to be problematic when winter arrives.
I managed to get over this afternoon and grab these pics.









A few construction details.



Appears to be a wire tie.



Around one of the roof windows.



The roof split from inside



And outside

 

Hi GRW.
Do you know what has happened with this. I saw a post from someone from Fife Councils archeological department seeking more information about this building from a guy who did his PHD on the technique.

Just want to clarify a couple of things regarding your post. These buildings aren't relocatable, and it would have been built in its present location.

Also, they are quite tough and I doubt a similarly abandoned Quonset or Nissen hut would have survived like this wonderful structure has.

We have similar structures built in parks in NSW Australia, built in public parks as shelters around the 1930s/40s from chicken wire and sand rich cement they have lasted generations of freeze thaw cycles and vandalism, and are still functional to this day!

The crack you mention is actually an expansion joint that has lost the flexible material that would have originally existed there.

One of Waller's army engineer writings says it should be a sisal rope covered with tar paint. From memory the rope is meant to swell if water penetrates the waterproofing, but being located on the ridge of a rib meant it was exposed to less water than if it had been in a trough.

I do hope this has been saved, as I understand that many thousands (reportedly 20,000!) were built to support the friendly invasion and it appears they have all, sadly, been demolished.

Wondering if you might provide me with some higher resolution photos. We only have 2 similar ctesiphons in Australia and I would like to see the ones built by Waller or his contemporaries for the war effort.

Do you know of anyone in the UK who is up on these things?

Regards
John

 

Hi John,
AFAIK this is still there and still abandoned. I don't drive these days, so have no way of getting back over to check. There was an attempt at having it scheduled as an Ancient Monument, but this failed because it's not in it's original location. These are the only pics I have, unfortunately.
As far as experts go, try emailing Paul Francis of the www.airfieldresearchgroup.org.uk.
This gives you a tiny bot of info, it's more useful for the bibliography. I did have a full thesis on wartime structures by this author, but I'll need to PM you.

 

That matting is almost certainly asbestos. That thing is one giant hazardous material site on the inside. That stuff is probably incredibly brittle and friable. You really should take at least minimum precautions going inside that building.

 

You sure- I was under the impression it was just Burlap? You never know though.

 

Or could it be hemp (and how available was hemp to the Commonwealth)?

Thanks guys for sharing. I was unaware of them. Modernly there is an emergency tent that has a concrete covering.

 

Jute was freely available from India, and was one of the staple industries in Dundee. According to this, there was a revival in Hemp use in wartime due to shortages, so anything's possible. Hemp is stronger than Jute, apparently-
Hemp History — British Hemp Alliance
Jute vs Hemp: What’s the Difference? | SGT KNOTS®

 

Most likely asbestos impregnated burlap. Insulation of that sort was common in the 30's to the 60's. When you see that light grey color and a material with little 'hairs' in it, it's almost a certainty you're dealing with an asbestos product.

 

Ah, ok. Just assumed that was concrete.

 

I'd invest the cash in an asbestos self-test kit for it.

 

Will that test kit be the equivalent of the PCR for C-19?

If it's for real, it's certainly worthwhile. Gesundheit! (good health).

 

I'd invest the cash in an asbestos self-test kit for it.

Yes, those are real test kits. The one shown I picked because it's used in the UK. You take samples, mail them in, the company tests them. You can get kits that will work on the spot, but I don't know if those are in use in the UK. They are in the US.

The UK's foremost supplier of asbestos testing kits • Asbestos Kits UK Ltd

You don't need the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) part. It's almost stupid. Wear dishwashing gloves, and a good fit dust mask / comfort mask, and don't raise a lot of dust doing your samples. Afterwards, turn the gloves inside out and toss them in a double trash bag with the mask. Wash the clothes you wore and shower off. That's more than enough. It's not like you're working for years in an asbestos mine or something.

Asbestos is really only dangerous when it's friable. That is it gets airborne and you breathe it in. Otherwise just don't get it on you by raising dust and such. If a rip out is needed, hire pros to do it.

That's all unofficial, but reasonable and practical rather than the official overkill the government regulations demand.

 

I deal with asbestos sheathed wiring and cable sometimes when working on old buildings. I have my guys wear the latex gloves and a dust mask. We cut the cable up without pulling it through studs and such and double trash bag it. It's not all that hazardous because we're not raising any dust doing that. I just did a service panel upgrade in June like that. It was outdoors and only some of the cabling in the home was the asbestos-type sheathed material.

The OSHA and EPA regulations in the state assume the worst case of everything and are massive overkill.

If it were a whole attic full of vermiculite or something and we were going to have to be moving around in it, I'd refuse and ask for experts to clean that up. But some "Romex" style cable and wiring? Na. No reason to go to that panic level. If your building is insulated with asbestos, get some pros to remove it. I'm sure you can find a replacement that looks similar to what's there now if you are going for historical accuracy.

 

I remember an old Bevin Boy camp my old man worked in was full of Turner Curved Asbestos huts, the cheap version of Nissens.
When they vacated them for a purpose-built building in the early '70s, the old complex lay derelict for years. It then took specialists about four years to clear the site and remove four feet of topsoil before they could begin building what was then the new college.
Total timespan of about 20 years, I think.
I can remember walking through another Turner hut in another derelict Bevin Boy camp years ago, and being able to see the long asbestos fibres floating serenely through the air.
I'm probably doomed- or 'fair f*ckit* as we say in Caledonia.

 

It is hessian / burlap/ jute and cement.
It was known in Australia as "petrified hessian".

It is an incredible building material and the technique was invented by James Waller.

Not a lot written about him, but his patents for the system are available on Google, and here is some further info
Research on James Waller - Ciarán Conlon Architecture + Design

 

Quincy MD was never wrong.

 

I'd check it anyway. Odds are it has asbestos in it.

 

A nice resource on this technique is Wallers various patents.

Google Patents

I'll also place a link to a Royal Engineers Journal that gives nice contruction advice as soon as I can find it on the web.