TRUSTEES at The Folly in Settle are appealing for donations of a very unusual kind- pure wood ash to help with the restoration of the much loved 340 year old former manor house.

Wood ashes are just one of the ingredients needed for the traditional hot lime mortar, which is being used to re-point the front elevation of The Folly, Settle’s only Grade I listed building, say the trustees.

As part of the work, they commissioned analysis of some of the surviving mortar from the 17th century, when The Folly was built.

Nigel Copsey, a hot lime mortar expert, has now devised a mortar mix appropriate to the age and construction of the building, while also protecting the historic stonework from further damage from the Dales weather.

The mix is used hot, so repointing can be done in the current cold weather, and the lime used leaves small white ‘inclusions’ which will be a clue to any future building historians that the mortar was a hot lime mix.

The mortar includes ingredients including wood ash and goat or horse hair which would have been readily available in the 17th century, but are much harder to come by today say the trustees.

Kevin Woods, of Woodsbuild Heritage, which is carrying out the repointing and roof works said:“The historic mix binds to the stonework very well and is really easy to work with, so we can achieve a very neat finish. And, of course, it’s always exciting to work with traditional materials.”

Liz Haestier, of Overton Architects, who is overseeing the works said people might notice a difference in the colour of the mortar, but the finished result will be more in keeping with how the building would originally have looked.

“Now we’ve started, it’s evident how much the stone on the front façade is deteriorating due to inappropriate cementitious pointing materials used in the past, before the trust came into possession of the building,” she said.

“We are replacing the existing mortar with a hot lime mortar mix, as it would have been originally, which will allow the walls to breathe. It will look different, as the new mortar is much lighter in colour, but it will be more in-keeping with the original stonework”

The repointing of The Folly is part of a programme of works by Woodsbuild Heritage overseen by Overton Architects.

As well as repointing the front façade, the roof and ridge tiles will be repaired and sections of plaster inside the building, damaged where rainwater has come through the roof, will be made good.

The iconic windows are being repaired by a specialist glazier, Pendle Stained Glass.

Coronavirus restrictions permitting, it is hoped The Folly will reopen to the public at Easter.

Anyone who has wood ash they would like to donate is being asked to bag the ashes securely, and deposit them in a metal bin outside The Folly’s Coffee House steps for a socially distanced drop off. As for the horse hair, the trustees say they have plenty, much of it from old furniture.

The wood ash must have come from a wood only fire - no coal can have also have been burned - and the wood needs to have come from logs, rather than reclaimed timber. This is because the mortar mix is sensitive and chemicals from coal or wood preservatives might stop it from setting properly.

The works have been made possible through generous grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Historic England, and the Harold and Alice Bridges Charity

The Folly, built in 1679, is the Yorkshire Dales’ only Grade I listed historic house regularly open to the public.

It is home to the Museum of North Craven Life, which tells fascinating tales of the people and landscape of the local area.

The building, and the neighbouring Grade II Zion Chapel, is owned and run by the North Craven Building Preservation Trust, the volunteer-led registered charity dedicated to preserving the historical, agricultural and architectural heritage of the district.