THE fourth in a series of winter talks which delve into a town’s rich history and heritage is taking place next week.

Maldon District Council has hosted a series of five heritage winter talks each year since 2002.

The free talks to the public are hugely popular and each focuses on an aspect of local heritage or history.

The next talk is on Tuesday, February 4, at 7pm at the Friends Meeting House in Butt Lane, Maldon.

It will feature an in-depth discussion from guest speaker Rick Lewis who will travel back in time to look at the construction and repair of traditional timber-framed buildings.

Rick is a specialist conservation carpenter based in Suffolk.

Over the past 30 years he has repaired several hundred timber-framed buildings and studied many in his spare time, acquiring a deep understanding of the craft.

In this talk, he will describe how timber-framed buildings were originally constructed and how they can be repaired effectively and sympathetically in the 21st century.

Mr Lewis started his career as an everyday site carpenter but became disillusioned with the industry and nearly quit to study medieval art history.

By chance, a local contractor sent him to repair a Suffolk church and he has been studying medieval architecture ever since.

He has gained his knowledge by closely observing the historic buildings of the region.

Having repaired more than 100 timber framed buildings and visited many more in his spare time, he has a rare insight into the subject.

To find out more information, visit bit.ly/WinterHeritage.