C O N T E X T 1 0 8 : M A R C H 2 0 0 9 1 Context Cover: AuschwitzBirkenau, Poland (Photo: Fiona Newton) Uncomfortable truths, past and present Editorial How should we celebrate history that makes us uncomfortable? We may admire a house designed by an architect of talent and built with the finest craftsmanship, but what difference does it make to our enjoyment to know that it was built on the profits of the slave trade? The truth is that human kind is good at distancing itself from horrors.When Britain engaged in the slave trade, some human beings were condemned on the grounds of the colour of their skin to having no more rights than animals.We owe it to those who suffered to write that history: to present buildings built on the profits of slavery in ways that explain the economic system and social values of a country that nevertheless considered itself civilised and godfearing. Prisons and concentration camps may be less of a problem to the historian or interpreter. They were not built to delight anyone architecturally, so we can more simply preserve them for their history while condemning the inhuman attitudes that shaped them. Who knows what future generations will think of the comfortable distance that we put between ourselves and today’s inhumanities? We may try to avoid buying cheap clothes made by children and indentured labourers, the slaves of today. But we are as likely to say that those workers need the money, and that that is the way the world works.We know very well what the cost of our summer holiday would buy in terms of humanitarian aid to an African village, but Africa is probably sufficiently out of sight to be out of mind. Future generations of building conservationists may feel obliged to explain that some valued buildings of the 21st century were the work of people who denied the human rights of children and indentured labourers, or who profited from activities that helped condemn millions to the consequences of climate change. Writing or presenting history responsibly depends on being aware of our own values, and of how different they may be to those of times past and how different they may be to generations to come. Thinking about our uncomfortable history can help us learn about our perhaps toocomfortable selves. The Institute of historic building conservation www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a Charity Number 1061593. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England Number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road,TunbridgeWells, Kent TN2 4QZ. IHBC Officers President Eddie Booth email president@ihbc.org.uk Chairman Dave Chetwyn email chair@ihbc.org.uk Vice Chair Sheila Stones email vchair@ihbc.org.uk Secretary Richard Morrice email secretary@ihbc.org.uk Treasurer Michael Knights email treasurer@ihbc.org.uk Membership Secretary Jo Evans email membership@ihbc.org.uk Education Secretary John Preston email education@ihbc.org.uk Publicity Secretary Doug Black email publicity@ihbc.org.uk Law & Practice Coordinator vacant email law@ihbc.org.uk Director Seán O’Reilly email director@ihbc.org.uk Projects Officer Fiona Newton email projects@ihbc.org.uk Consultant Consultations Coordinator James Caird email consultations@ihbc.org.uk Membership Services Officer Devon DeCelles email membershipservices@ihbc.org.uk Administration Officer Lydia Porter email admin@ihbc.org.uk IHBC Committee Chairs Policy Mike Brown email policy@ihbc.org.uk Membership & Ethics Jo Evans email membership@ihbc.org.uk Finance & Resources Richard Morrice email resources@ihbc.org.uk Education John Preston email education@ihbc.org.uk Communications & Outreach vacant email communications@ihbc.org.uk Branch Officers North Geoff Underwood Tel 0191 433 3435 NorthWest Kate Borland Tel 0161 2344556 Yorkshire Keith Knight Tel 01904 658482 West Midlands Charles Shapcott Tel 0121 7044312 East Midlands Roy Lewis Tel 01636 653060 South Julia Foster Tel 01296 585888 SouthWest Ian Lund Tel 01225 477687 East Anglia StaceyWeiser-Jones Tel 01954 713178 South East David Kincaid Tel 01227 862185 London David McDonald Tel 020 8881 6724 Scotland Charles Strang Tel 01835 822560 Wales Nathan Blanchard Tel 01492 583443 Northern Ireland Sharon BrownTel 028 9754 3087 Republic of Ireland Cormac O’Sullivan Tel 00353 5677 62907 Business Office Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA England Tel 01747 873133 Fax 01747 871718 email admin@ihbc.org.uk Briefing 2 Letters 3 Material matters 4 Out of Context 5 The writer’s voice 5 Periodically 6 Conference report: On theWaterfront Dennis Rodwell 9 Conference report: Agencies Coordinating Group Fiona Newton 12 Agencies Coordinating Group research Ela Palmer 14 ‘We are in misery’: buildings of captivity Graham Tite 17 Landscapes of human exploitation Fiona Newton 20 The history of the workhouse Peter Higginbotham 24 Built on slavery LaurenceWestgaph 27 Weymouth’s Coadstone king Chris Daniels 31 Urban conservation in Italy Michael Taylor 33 Article 4 directions in conservation areas Andrew Dick 37 The Milestone Society Rob Caldicott 40 A final word from the president David Lovie 41 Member on the move 41 Conservations areas at risk CharlesWagner 42 Notes from the chair 43 Director’s cut 44 Membership notes 45 Vox pop 46 Book reviews 47 Products and services 53 Advertisers index 56 Institute ofHistoricBuildingConservation No 108 March 2009 The uncomfortable history of prisons, death camps,workhouses and slavery
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