Charles to import kiln for his eco-friendly village
by REBECCA ENGLISH, Daily Mail
27th May 2006
Poundbury, Dorset - Prince Charles's eco-friendly village.
Fascinated: Prince Charles wants to import this kiln to make bricks and tiles for his eco-friendly village
He's long been a champion of traditional - if slightly eccentric - ideas when it comes to building and architecture.
But Prince Charles, it seems, has outdone himself this time.
For the heir to the throne is planning to import a medieval-style kiln - complete with a horse to power it - from deepest Transylvania to make bricks and tiles for Poundbury, his eco-friendly Dorset village.
Charles came up with idea during a secret fact-finding trip he made to Romania earlier this month without his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall.
He spent fours days looking around projects run by the Mihai Eminescu Foundation, of which he is patron, which was set up to preserve the country's historic Saxon villages from destruction - an issue Charles is passionate about.
The prince, it seems, was so taken with what he saw that he insisted on sleeping in a simple village house refurbished by the Trust - complete with a wooden truckle bed and outside toilet - and drinking locally-pressed organic apple juice.
But it was the traditional hand-fired kiln in the picturesque village of Viscri that particularly took Charles fancy - so much so that as soon as he laid eyes on it, the prince declared; "We must have one of these at Poundbury".
The contraption, known as a 'Scotch', can fire up to 5,000 bricks and 12,000 tiles at any one time in a huge open chamber which is heated by three separate fires using sustainable supplies of local wood.
The process allows operators to bake the bricks very gently, shifting them from one side of the chamber to another, which gives them a unique traditional look.
Prince 'fascinated by horse and kiln'
Even the clay for the bricks is made using authentic methods that date back to the medieval age, namely a mixer powered by a single, plodding horse harnessed to a recycled timber axle.
"The prince was fascinated by the horse and kiln and was absolutely serious when he said he wanted to use the process at Poundbury. He spent almost an hour discussing its merits with the staff there and how he could get one built in England," a source close to the visit said.
Poundbury is the realisation of Charles's long held dream to build the 'perfect' environmentally-friendly English village.
The award-winning estate - which is situated on a 400-acre Duchy of Cornwall estate near Dorchester - was built using local materials and craftsmen and has its own pub, cafe, school and grocery store.
But it has also attracted its fair share of controversy, with critics ridiculing the project as an 'utopian idyll' and locals accusing Poundbury residents of being 'middle class snobs' who refuse to blend in with genuine country life.
A spokesman for the Prince confirmed last night that he had visited Romania, saying: "He is fascinated by the country and goes there quite frequently on his own. But it was a private trip and we would not comment about what he did there."
The Mihai Eminescu Trust confirmed that the prince had been to Transylvania. "His Royal Highness is a very enthusiastic supporter of the work we do. He saw the work of several voluntary organisations which are active in different fields in the area, including a project to build a traditional brick and tile kiln which will be operated by a local family and provide hand-made materials to Transylvanian architects and builders," a spokesman said.
The Trust stressed that the horse-powered operation was animal-friendly, adding: "As it is a small project, the horses only work for an hour or so a day and there is no stress to them whatsoever."
dailymail.co.uk
by REBECCA ENGLISH, Daily Mail
27th May 2006
Poundbury, Dorset - Prince Charles's eco-friendly village.
Fascinated: Prince Charles wants to import this kiln to make bricks and tiles for his eco-friendly village
He's long been a champion of traditional - if slightly eccentric - ideas when it comes to building and architecture.
But Prince Charles, it seems, has outdone himself this time.
For the heir to the throne is planning to import a medieval-style kiln - complete with a horse to power it - from deepest Transylvania to make bricks and tiles for Poundbury, his eco-friendly Dorset village.
Charles came up with idea during a secret fact-finding trip he made to Romania earlier this month without his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall.
He spent fours days looking around projects run by the Mihai Eminescu Foundation, of which he is patron, which was set up to preserve the country's historic Saxon villages from destruction - an issue Charles is passionate about.
The prince, it seems, was so taken with what he saw that he insisted on sleeping in a simple village house refurbished by the Trust - complete with a wooden truckle bed and outside toilet - and drinking locally-pressed organic apple juice.
But it was the traditional hand-fired kiln in the picturesque village of Viscri that particularly took Charles fancy - so much so that as soon as he laid eyes on it, the prince declared; "We must have one of these at Poundbury".
The contraption, known as a 'Scotch', can fire up to 5,000 bricks and 12,000 tiles at any one time in a huge open chamber which is heated by three separate fires using sustainable supplies of local wood.
The process allows operators to bake the bricks very gently, shifting them from one side of the chamber to another, which gives them a unique traditional look.
Prince 'fascinated by horse and kiln'
Even the clay for the bricks is made using authentic methods that date back to the medieval age, namely a mixer powered by a single, plodding horse harnessed to a recycled timber axle.
"The prince was fascinated by the horse and kiln and was absolutely serious when he said he wanted to use the process at Poundbury. He spent almost an hour discussing its merits with the staff there and how he could get one built in England," a source close to the visit said.
Poundbury is the realisation of Charles's long held dream to build the 'perfect' environmentally-friendly English village.
The award-winning estate - which is situated on a 400-acre Duchy of Cornwall estate near Dorchester - was built using local materials and craftsmen and has its own pub, cafe, school and grocery store.
But it has also attracted its fair share of controversy, with critics ridiculing the project as an 'utopian idyll' and locals accusing Poundbury residents of being 'middle class snobs' who refuse to blend in with genuine country life.
A spokesman for the Prince confirmed last night that he had visited Romania, saying: "He is fascinated by the country and goes there quite frequently on his own. But it was a private trip and we would not comment about what he did there."
The Mihai Eminescu Trust confirmed that the prince had been to Transylvania. "His Royal Highness is a very enthusiastic supporter of the work we do. He saw the work of several voluntary organisations which are active in different fields in the area, including a project to build a traditional brick and tile kiln which will be operated by a local family and provide hand-made materials to Transylvanian architects and builders," a spokesman said.
The Trust stressed that the horse-powered operation was animal-friendly, adding: "As it is a small project, the horses only work for an hour or so a day and there is no stress to them whatsoever."
dailymail.co.uk
