C O N T E X T 1 0 8 : M A R C H 2 0 0 9 3 Letters… An interpretation centre has been created to show Liverpool’s Old Dock.The world’s first commercial enclosed wet dock, the Old Dock could harbour up to 100 ships in one day. It disappeared under newer buildings almost 200 years ago, and is now beneath the new Liverpool One shopping centre. Purcell Miller Tritton was the project’s architect and conservation consultant. The former national school in Llandudno, which was rescued by a local building preservation trust, was one of the successes due to be celebrated at a conference organised by the IHBC, the Prince’s Regeneration Trust and the Civic Trust forWales on Recycling Historic Buildings: empowering local authorities and communities in Llandudno on 26 March. Details at http:// llandudno2009.ihbc.org.uk The 218-year-old Calder Hebble NavigationWarehouse inWakefield has been given a new lease of life following a £4.8 million restoration project carried out byYork and Manchester-based building conservation specialists William Anelay.The Grade II* listed building has been converted to a 3,200 square metre office and retail space as part of the £100 millionWakefieldWaterfront Project. Baha’i wear and tear From Peter Arnold,Walsall I note the Briefing item about world heritage site status for the Baha’i headquarters complex at Haifa, Israel, in Context 106. In January 2008 I had the opportunity to spend a day in the city of WilkesBarre, Pennsylvania, USA. One of the most exotic sights of the town centre was a large Baha’i temple, with no fewer than six immensely tall minarets and a central dome. This spectacular building, seeming to date from the 1920s, was richly and inventively detailed, with much good craftsmanship. However, the temple showed clear signs of wear and tear, suggesting that the present congregation was having difficulty in providing adequate fabric maintenance for this very memorable and deserving-of-preservation building. Peter Arnold My moment of glory From Tony Robinson Ever wanted to put the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport right on a few matters concerning the historic heritage? Imagine my surprise when the following missive dropped into my email inbox recently. ‘The Secretary of State has asked if you would be willing to meet him for 30 minutes to discuss Heritage Protection. I would be grateful if you could contact me on the below number to arrange a convenient date.’ Gosh, my moment of glory: 15, no 30, minutes of fame. A one-to-one with the SoS. For starters, there’s this Heritage Bill which seems to have been dumped after months of effort, there’s the latest mangling of the General Development Procedure Order and its impact on conservation areas, there’s the constant threat to conservation areas by alterations, VAT on listed building repairs... The list goes on. I phoned the ‘below number’, and explained that I lived in NorthYorkshire and, much as I would like to pop round for a chat, doubts were surfacing in my mind. ‘How did you get my email address?’ A pause, then ‘er, I need to check this out, I’ll get back to you.’ Later that day, a message landed on the phone. ‘Mr Robinson, I’m very sorry but unfortunately I was given the wrong contact details and I wasn’t supposed to email yourself, sorry for the confusion, hope it hasn’t caused any inconvenience.’ I put the phone down wondering which (if any) of my namesakes would make it through the portals of the DCMS. Tony Robinson The Baha’i temple atWilkes-Barre, PA: the gable and a minaret (above) and the faience tiling surround to a doorway
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