About
I am a heritage professional with a passion for sympathetic conservation
My dedication to the historic environment is rooted in a lifelong interest in heritage buildings. From the age of three, I lived in a late 17th-century brick timber-framed cottage in the South of England. When we first moved in, the building was in a terrible state of repair. The floors were rotten, windows were broken, and years of bodge jobs had caused significant degradation. As I grew up, my father and I worked to restore the building, focusing on heritage materials, sympathetic intervention, and repair rather than replacement, while ensuring it was fit for a modern family to use.
As we removed layers of modern plaster, wallpaper and insulation, I was fascinated by the history being uncovered. Each timber beam, each section of plaster infill, each handmade brick, told a story. This fascination with the processes and history of buildings would lead me to pursue a BA in Archaeology at the University of York, which I completed in 2023.
Towards the end of my BA studies, I was introduced to historic building conservation as a career. I immediately went about researching courses in this field and found that the University of York had an MA course in the exact thing I wanted to pursue. I wanted to ensure that I could complete the course to the best of my abilities, and to do so, I needed money. For the next year, I went about saving through my work as a landscaper, something which I had done since age 15 throughout school and my BA studies, and which gave me a fantastic practical background that I could apply to the heritage sector.
Craft Background
For eight years, I was employed in the construction sector, primarily as a landscaper. I found this line of work very fulfilling, and I knew from early on that I would be best suited to a mix of practical and academic work. This experience allowed me to get to grips with various materials, working methods, traditional tools and the construction process, and sparked in me an appreciation for the traditional crafts. My employer kindly allowed me to focus primarily on the detailed stone, timber, and metalwork, which fed my passion for high work quality, material knowledge, and working processes.
Some of my previous work is displayed to the right. This is just a small snippet of the landscaping work I undertook over my eight years while employed with BALI Award-winning Garden Creations, a small Sussex-based landscaping company with an eye for detail and quality.
What I do
Whether you’re looking to renovate a property or apply for listed building consent, I am here to help achieve your vision
If you are looking to undertake works on a heritage property, a building in a conservation area, or a listed asset, there are a series of crucial steps, all of which require careful planning and research. I am equipped to take your project through these steps from beginning to end.
- I offer condition reports, which detail the issues faced by your property, and suggest suitable conservation-led repairs or intervention.
- Once the building has been assessed, planning can be sought. I offer production of Heritage Statements, 3D models, and building surveys to aid in your planning application, help planning officers understand the challenges at hand, and communicate your desires in a heritage-appropriate fashion.
- Conservation and construction work. Once your planning has been approved, my set of conservation, construction, and restoration skills will help you bring a property back to life through a scheme of heritage-appropriate works.
When the planning process is through and permission has been granted, it is paramount that works are undertaken by a reputable, conservation-led contractor. My knowledge base, as gained through my studies both in Archaeology and Conservation, has equipped me with an excellent understanding of how our heritage assets are constructed, the issues that they face, and how to best conserve them.
With experience in the construction industry and through my work on heritage properties, I am expertly equipped to undertake heritage conservation in a way that will ensure your property lasts for generations to come. I prioritise sympathetic conservation, which involves restrained, materially sympathetic conservation, while ensuring usability for inhabitants in a way that suits modern ways of living.
Contact me to discuss your conservation needs
- 07549431069
- maxsmithmorris@gmail.com
- 53 Newborough Street, York, North Yorkshire, YO30 7AS