Institute of Historic Building Conservation No 121 September 2011 IHBC Annual School in Llandudno Conservation and stewardship in uncertain times
Call us now on 01248 600 656 or visit www.welshslate.com Welsh Slate, Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 4YG E-mail: enquiries@welshslate.com Roofing the nation’s heritage for hundreds of years
C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 1 Plas Mawr, Conwy, one of the highlights of the Annual School tours (Photo: Jonathan Taylor) Institute ofHistoricBuildingConservation No 121 September 2011 IHBC Annual School in Llandudno Conservation and stewardship in uncertain times Editorial Getting heated about investing in value The politics are hotting up. Planning, the government tells us, must shift the balance of its social, environmental and economic goals towards the economic one – as embodied in whoever is seeking planning permission. We have seen this stage of the political cycle before. First the built environment professions object, and are written off as having vested interests. Then pressure groups, such as the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England object, and are duly dismissed as NIMBYs or Barbour-jacketed leftists. But in the past, the planning system has survived. People with political clout tend to live in places that they are keen to protect. Let’s give the government its due. Yes, the planning system has been dysfunctional.Yes, we do need to focus on boosting the economy. But economic issues can not be neatly extricated from social and environmental ones. Do riots and other forms of social breakdown have an impact on the economy? Do attractive historic places have economic value? Do people who invest in buildings look for confidence that public authorities will do what they can to ensure that the quality of the area in which they are investing will be maintained? They do. If economic growth is what we want, we need to promote development that has positive social and environmental value. Planning was invented because in the early 20th century it was realised that the market by itself did not make the necessary fine judgements between economic, social and environmental issues. It is easy enough to say that the interests of economic growth are represented by whoever happens to be applying for planning permission at that moment. But development decisions have impacts on other times and other places. Reconciling those impacts depends on a reflective planning process, not a purely permissive one. In the long run those who advocate such thoughtfulness, including most building conservationists, may yet see such a process emerging, in response to the economic turbulence and climate change that threaten to engulf us. But present indications are that the planning system may be in for a few years of confusion before such sanity prevails. The IHBC Annual School in Llandudno provided valuable guidance on how conservation may yet be able to flourish in such uncertain times. www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a charity in England andWales number 1061593 and in Scotland number SC041945. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road,TunbridgeWells, Kent TN2 4QZ. Officers President Trefor Thorpe email president@ihbc.org.uk Chair Jo Evans email chair@ihbc.org.uk Vice Chair Sheila Stones email vchair@ihbc.org.uk Secretary Eddie Booth email secretary@ihbc.org.uk Treasurer Richard Morrice email treasurer@ihbc.org.uk Membership Secretary vacant 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 Carmen Moran email membershipservices@ihbc.org.uk Administration Officer Lydia Porter email admin@ihbc.org.uk Committee Chairs Policy Mike Brown email policy@ihbc.org.uk Membership & Ethics Paul Butler email membership@ihbc.org.uk Finance & Resources Richard Morrice email resources@ihbc.org.uk Education John Preston email education@ihbc.org.uk Communications & Outreach Charles Strang email communications@ihbc.org.uk Branch Officers North Geoff UnderwoodTel 0191 433 3435 NorthWest Kate Borland Tel 0778 0704726 Yorkshire Keith Knight Tel 01904 658482 West Midlands Charles Shapcott Tel 0121 7044312 East Midlands Roy Lewis Tel 01636 619335 South Julia Foster Tel 01296 585888 SouthWest JamesWebbTel 01202 732849 East Anglia Phil Godwin Tel 01263 516131 South East Sean Rix Tel 01483 523379 London David McDonald Tel 020 7361 3352 Scotland Stuart Eydmann Tel 01506 775279 Wales Nathan Blanchard Tel 01492 583443 Northern Ireland Colin Hatrick Tel 028 9064 1126 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 Out of Context 4 The writer’s voice 4 Periodically 5 IHBC Annual School 2011 Navigating the shallows: conservation and stewardship in uncertain times Edward Holland 9 Day School reports Video address from Huw Lewis, minister for housing, regeneration and heritage Neil Maylan 12 Straws in the wind at the HLF Paul Butler 13 Can communities deliver conservation-led regeneration? JohnYates 13 The heritage skills agenda Harriet Devlin 14 Heritage asset transfer: a growing opportunity David Kincaid 14 Localism, the Big Society and the historic environment Simon Robertshaw and Amy Longford 15 Thoughts from theWildWest Robert Chambers 16 A new paradigm for the built environment sector Dave Chetwyn 17 Securing quality of design in challenging times DavidViner 17 Study tours Visits to Bodnant and Gwydir Castle Kate Biggs 20 Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan: a long way west to find North David McDonald 21 Lady Forester’s Convalescent Home and St George’s National School, Llandudno Barbara Hornbrook 22 Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda Lucie Carayon 23 Visits to Conwy Castle, town walls, planned town and Plas Mawr Malcolm Cooper and John Preston 24 The plight of Leeds and Liverpool’s religious heritage Stephen Brothwell 28 Representing women’s history Kate Jordan 32 Architecturally speaking 34 Notes from the chair 36 Director’s cut 38 Vox pop 39 Conference report: BTU Cottbus, Germany Dennis Rodwell 41 Book reviews 42 Products and services 45 Advertisers index 48
2 C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 Briefing Context Editor Rob Cowan Editorial Coordinator Fiona Newton 21 George Street, Louth, Lincolnshire LN11 9JU Tel 01507 602567 email editorial@ihbc.org.uk Editorial Board Fiona Newton (chair) Nigel Crowe (main features) Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Michael Taylor (main features) Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2011 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Published for the Institute of Historic Building Conservation by Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury,Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA Tel 01747 871717 Fax 01747 871718 email context@cathcomm.co.uk www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to non-members of the IHBC at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £50.00 Elsewhere £75.00 Subscription orders, together with remittances payable to Institute of Historic Building Conservation, should be sent to the IHBC Business Office at Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA. The views expressed in Context are not necessarily held by the IHBC or the publisher. Neither the publisher nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication.While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this issue of Context is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. Copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November.The remaining copy deadline in 2011 is: November, Issue 122 19 September The fund, to be administered by the Architectural Heritage Fund, will specifically support rescues of Grade I and II* listed buildings at risk. The AHF will disburse grants of up to £200,000 each over the next five years to voluntary sector groups such as building preservation trusts, civic societies, development and groundwork trusts who take on historic building rescues. English Heritage will also help to spread skills and experience to more people at local level. It will ask grant recipients to bring in an experienced project manager to work alongside existing trustees, and to involve and tutor a less experienced group of volunteers which can go on to undertake another rescue. The AHF points out that only about 100 of the 250 building preservation trusts are fully active. The rest are unable to find sufficient funds to take on a rescue, or lack the expertise and confidence to tackle complex and demanding Grade I and II* buildings. Funds for Crystal Grotto The Crystal Grotto, a landscape feature at Painshill Park in Cobham, Surrey, has been awarded £747,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund for restoration works. The project, to be run by the Painshill Park Trust, will complete the latest phase of restoration works Soane drawings Sir John Soane’s architectural drawings for five London buildings, including designs for his family tomb in St Pancras Gardens which inspired Gilbert Scott’s prototype for the red telephone box, have been published on his museum’s website at www.soane.org thanks to an £80,000 grant from the Designation Development Fund from Renaissance Funding, administered by Museums, Libraries and Archives. The 2,200 drawings are for the design of Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Bank of England, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the Soane Monument in St Pancras Gardens and Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing. Bolton Percy Gatehouse nearYork was saved by the Vivat Trust. (Photo: English Heritage) Soane’s family tomb. By courtesy of the Trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum. An interior perspective of Soane’s DoricVestibule to the Bank of England. By courtesy of the Trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum. Challenge fund Voluntary groups who rescue historic buildings at risk will be able to call on a new £2 million Challenge Fund put together with a donation of £1 million from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, matched by £1 million from English Heritage.
C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 3 at the park, which is regarded as one of the most important 18th century landscapes in the UK. The grant will also be used to improve access to the grotto and its interior for visitors and create two apprenticeships in gardening and building restoration and an education post to expand Painshill’s education and community outreach programmes. Some 158 acres in size, the Grade I listed Georgian landscape at Painshill Park was created between 1738 and 1773 by aristocrat Charles Hamilton out of his passion for plant collecting and the new fashions for naturalistic romantic landscapes of the period. Situated on an island on the lake at the centre of the park, the Crystal Grotto is one of the last historic follies at the park to be restored. Originally created by grotto maker Joseph Lane in 1760 for the sum of £8,000, the spectacular folly was described by German landscape designer Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell (1750–1823) as ‘the finest of its type ever built’. Restoration works will include the reinstatement of theWoollett Bridge, the appearance of which is preserved in an engraving dated 1760 byWilliamWoollett but which has since been completely lost. The grotto itself is to have its main chamber restored, which will include lining it with calcite, gypsum, quartz, fluorite, and other minerals and stones. It will complete the framework of inverted wooden cones plastered with lime mortar and embedded with crystals to create dazzling stalactites. The 24-month restoration programme is due to be completed in 2013. Modernist of the suburbs Kingston University is to receive £81,000 in funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to study the work of modernist architect KennethWood who recently donated archival materials, including models, plans and drawings, private papers and personal photographs, to the university. ‘While there has been a lot of research into, and comment on, London’s urban architecture of the 50s and 60s,’ the researcher Fiona Fisher says, ‘the outer boroughs have been largely neglected. The suburbs were a growth area, an arena in which a generation of modernist architects could establish their reputations.’ The research has attracted interest from the Twentieth Century Society, which hopes to draw on the work to help persuade local authorities to safeguard properties from this era. Wood’s practice designed private houses, small housing schemes, churches, offices, schools and recreational buildings. The firm’s most significant private commission was a home and private gallery, built in Kingston for the managing director of Gala Cosmetics, Stanley Picker. Its other commissions included Hampton House, winner of Ideal Home magazine’s ‘House of theYear’ award in 1961. Since 2000, two of Wood’s houses have been demolished and others are now under threat. As pressure has grown on land in the suburbs, developers have identified the large sites on which many of Wood’s properties were built as having the potential to be divided up. seven years. Its aims are to ensure that registrants have demonstrated a high level of competence and understanding of historic structures; to provide lists of engineers who have the ability to deal sympathetically with historic structures; and to encourage engineers to improve their conservation education. The conservation engineer’s function is not simply that of a protector of heritage assets. It involves integrating new with old, and developing reasoned arguments for proposed construction works. CARE seeks to test the skills and values in its accreditation process, providing clients with a universally recognised level of competence. An engineer on the register will have had to prove that they have a sound conservation philosophy, are up to date with CPD and are able to show their competency through five case studies. In view of the huge amount of work that relates to conservation, repair and maintenance (reported in the IHBC Yearbook as being worth £5 billion a year), there is a clear need for wellqualified structural and civil engineers who understand old structures. There are various other lists where it is possible to find structural and civil engineering practices which claim to have experience in dealing with historic structures. But only those engineers registered with CARE have been able to prove their competency to the CARE assessors. This is not to say that many of the others are not competent, but how are owners and those in other professions to know who has a proven track record? CARE registers individuals, not practices. CARE is of value to IHBC members when searching for engineering advice. Presently there are 33 engineers on the register. If you know of a competent engineer, ask if they are accredited. Of the 33, 12 are members of IHBC (the IHBCYearbook tells us there are 34 engineers who are IHBC members). The 22 engineers who are not accredited should seriously think of applying to register with CARE. Registrants report that they are getting an increasing amount of work as a result of being on the register. The register and further information about it are available online (on the Institution of Civil Engineers website: type CARE into the search box). CARE registrants will be happy to talk to groups of IHBC members about the register and engineering in conservation. Contact me or Jon Avent, chair of the CARE panel, both listed in the IHBCYearbook and on CARE. KennethWood in the 1950s Wood’s house and gallery for Stanley Picker The Crystal Grotto and its stalactites The right sort of engineer Ian Hume writes: The Conservation Accreditation Register for Engineers (CARE) has been running for just over
4 C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 ‘Ifyouwant to change your house in this country you have to go to the council for permission. Now this is to stop people putting up pink conservatories and generally ruining the heritage of Britain. And it all makes sense.’ Jeremy Clarkson speaking on Top Gear ‘A PLAN by the Mayor of Florence to complete, 500 years late, the bare facade of San Lorenzo – which ran out of money in the 15th century leaving an ugly brick wall, is under threat because Antonio Paolucci, the director of the Vatican Museums and an authority on the heritage of Italy has said: “It would be inappropriate because one would have to superimpose construction techniques and an architectural sensibility that would not be in harmony with the original building. We should leave the church in peace – San Lorenzo is beautiful as it is.” ‘I can imagine what Michelangelo would have said. Apparently the Medici in their will granting their art collection to the city stated that funding be provided to complete it. After living off this artwork for 500 years, perhaps the Florentines have an obligation.’ Andrew Lainton writing in his blog andrewlainton.wordpress.com ‘One of London Forum’s civic societies has considered what to do if the businesses they have been fighting set up a consortium to prepare a neighbourhood plan. The businesses are companies building basements and offering energy-reduction projects involving double-glazed windows, solar panels on all roof slopes, etc. ‘Local householders want them but their homes are Grade II listed in a conservation area. They have failed to get permission so far because the conservation society has worked with the local authority to keep the architectural integrity and public realm attributes that led to the listing and conservation area status. So there could be community support (by those who do not care about heritage, in this case) for a neighbourhood plan with proposals to take out planning restrictions and introduce permitted development rights in an area so that home owners could do anything they wished to do to their properties. ‘A similar approach might be taken by a developer wanting to demolish houses with large gardens and put up blocks of flats to increase the housing stock. That would get a lot of local support also, but all of us will have to consider how the conflicts will be managed. It’s something for local authorities to think about if presented with competing proposals.’ Peter Eversden writing on the LinkedIn neighbourhood planning group ‘The graffiti is a bit of thumbing of the nose at the conservationists, who are terribly precious about our environment, and that’s always good fun but you don’t want to cause the building permanent damage. If the building is fine and stable, there is no harm to it, then fine – paint it bright pink.’ Neil Baxter, secretary of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland talking to DeutscheWelle about Kelburn Castle in North Ayrshire, whose outer walls display a bright psychedelic graffiti mural. The 13th-century castle was decorated with 1,500 cans of spray paint. Its owner, the Earl of Glasgow, explains: ‘We were intending to take all the rendering off the castle walls and have it re-rendered, and so we thought it was the perfect time to have this great mural painted on the side of the castle.’ Historic Scotland granted permission based on the threeyear time limit, which is now up.The earl has written to Historic Scotland to ask if he can keep the mural ‘not permanently, but at least indefinitely’. From A Pattern Language: towns, buildings, construction by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein, published in 1977 [Compare] the work of a 50-year-old carpenter with the work of a novice. The experienced carpenter keeps going. He doesn’t have to keep stopping, because every action he performs is calculated in such a way that some later action can put it right to the extent that it is imperfect now. What is critical here, is the sequence of events. The carpenter never takes a step which he cannot correct later; so he can keep working, confidently, steadily. The novice, by comparison, spends a great deal of his time trying to figure out what to do. He does this essentially because he knows that an action he takes now may cause unretractable problems a little further down the line; and if he is not careful, he will find himself with a joint that requires the shortening of some crucial member – at a stage when it is too late to shorten that member. The fear of these kinds of mistakes forces him to spend hours trying to figure ahead: and it forces him to work as far as possible to exact drawings because they will guarantee that he avoids these kinds of mistakes. The difference between the novice and the master is simply that the novice has not learnt, yet, how to do things in such a way that he can afford to make small mistakes. The master knows that the sequence of his actions will always allow him to cover his mistakes a little further down the line. It is this simple but essential knowledge which gives the work of a master carpenter its wonderful, smooth, relaxed, and almost unconcerned simplicity.
C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 5 Periodically The latest issue of the Journal of Architectural Conservation (Vol 17, No 2) provides the usual invaluable mix of British policy, evaluation methods and technical advances. The first paper looks at the teaching of conservation and vernacular architecture. Much needed, some might say.What makes this paper particularly interesting is that the detailed investigation of vernacular settlements, and the principles for their conservation and reuse, constitute some of the essential elements of a compulsory course in the architecture programme at the University of Cyprus. Given the uncertainty over the future of conservation higher education courses in the UK, this overview from Maria Philokyprou, a lecturer on that course, gives a well-illustrated insight into how it is being done abroad. The growth of ivy on walls has long been considered to be as damaging as the roots, and tendrils penetrate masonry. Many a building-at-risk is camouflaged by such vegetation, obscuring any decay taking place. There is a school of thought, however, that ivy might actually offer some protection of historic building fabric. Heather Viles (who runs the Oxford Rock Breakdown Research Laboratory) and her two co-contributors describe and illustrate the findings of a three-year research project commissioned by English Heritage to evaluate the bio-protection and biodeterioration aspects of ivy cladding. Ivy has been found to provide a thermal blanket to insulate against extremes of heat and cold, and to minimise the effects of particulate pollution. Ivy rootlets adhering to stone appear to create minor damage, but roots that penetrate existing voids can create considerable decay. The automatic response to ivy coverage should therefore not necessarily be removal but, subject to a balanced appraisal to inform decisions to remove, leave (or even plant ivy), while also implementing regular and careful maintenance and monitoring. Your reviewer had written a paper on the current English Heritage-led Heritage Crime Initiative, launched earlier this year with the aim of addressing deliberate defacement and illegal demolition of historic buildings, and of establishing a working understanding between English Heritage, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service and participating local authorities (those with formal enforcement powers). A network of other supporting heritage organisations, ARCH (Alliance to Reduce Crime against Heritage) is also being established. The paper reviews the impetus in the sector prompted by the government following the infamous Greenside demolition case of 2003 and what the initiative hopes to achieve it its early stages. Turning to initiatives overseas, Avigail Charnov reviews the evolution of conservation techniques applied to earthen structures in the American south west since 1889. The paper explores the balance attempted by the National Parks Service between conserving sites and presenting them to the public. It explores the impact of interventions which, while preventing ruins, have inevitably led to changes in their appearance or status. The techniques used over the last 100 years or so to slow the pace of decay rather than suspend or prevent it are explored. The questions these techniques have posed are examined, along with their advantages and disadvantages. This should interest anyone involved with earthen architecture. The final article, from four authors from the Queen Rania Institute of Tourism and Heritage, the Hashemite University, looks at combining photogrammetric techniques with laserscanning to overcome the laborious task of recording and modelling buildings using traditional surveying techniques and CAD. The techniques are applied to a case study of Gharissa, one of the best preserved historic villages in Jordan. This column does not customarily highlight individual items of the national amenity society casework. But one particular case in Cornerstone, the magazine of the SPAB (Vol 32, No 2, 2011), highlights a wider issue of concern by the society about the operation of the ecclesiastical system. The society was recently exercised about the loss, for its original purpose, of an important 17th-century bell frame at St Matthew’s Church,Wookey, Somerset. It raises important questions about the extent of a chancellor’s authority to vary an existing faculty. A bell historian and expert, John Eisel, has identified the bell frame as dating
6 C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 from around 1660. Three of the six bells are on the Church Building Council’s list of historically interesting bells, the oldest dating from c1480. A faculty granted in August 2010 allowed for refurbishing the bells with mostly new fittings in the existing frame. The Diocesan Advisory Committee’s (DAC) approval included a recommendation that removal of the canons on the bells be considered, and that they be retuned. A subsequent variation to the faculty, granted by the chancellor, permitted the bells to be moved by way of one of the belfry windows. The society observed that it is not accepted good practice to retune medieval bells, and that it seemed strange that the practicalities of removing the bells were not sufficiently thought through at the time of the original faculty application. Once the bells had been removed, a bell hanger advised that the frame was not repairable. But a visit by an architect member of the DAC advised straightforwardly that the frame was generally in excellent condition and needed comparatively minor repairs. The parish then put forward two proposals. The first would result in the destruction of much of the 1660s frame. The second would preserve the frame without its bells, and install a new floor below the existing belfry floor and a new frame. A structural engineer representing the SPAB also concluded that the frame was in excellent condition. This led the society to conclude that what was being contemplated was the destruction of a piece of craftsmanship which had survived unscathed for 350 years, when all that was needed was modest repair. At issue for the SPAB was a potentially entirely inappropriate variation to the faculty by the chancellor to permit either of the parish’s options, both of which would be a fundamental reversal of the faculty already granted. If it was decided not to continue to use the bell frame, the chancellor should require a new faculty petition with full supporting information, including statements of need and significance. The society considered that as a result of its objections, if necessary, a consistory court would have to be convened. Not to do so would set a fearful precedent, with the chancellor setting aside the democratic process and deciding that he had the authority to issue a variation on such a fundamentally different set of proposals. The society concluded that no comparable powers existed in the secular system. The latest Transactions of the Association for the Studies in the Conservation of Historic Buildings (ASCHB) have recently been published (retrospectively) for 2010 presenting well-illustrated subjects in greater depth than is often permissible in most other heritage periodicals. While repair and restoration projects at three sites are discussed in detail, the approach to key principles is particularly also worth following up in this set of Transactions. The first project concerns the restoration of the east end chapels of Chichester Cathedral, described by Colin Kerr, surveyor of the fabric since 2006. This part of the building contains some of the country’s most significant transitional work from Romanesque to Gothic in the country, and brings to a conclusion repairs of the masonry begun in the 1960s. The external repairs have continued to use Richemont Jaune stone for the general ashlar and Lepine for weatherings, with Purbeck replacing Ashburton, which had survived for only 140 years. Kerr describes the history and the external and internal works, including the conservation of the decorative scheme with a very fine full-page colour illustration of a surviving mid-16th century decorative vault painting, which at one time decorated the entire cathedral. In relation to the stained glass restoration by Clayton and Bell in the 1870s, incorporating fragmentary medieval glass, he remarks that many people seem to think that conservation was invented in 1975. The contentious recreation of the Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle is described by Richard Griffiths. Although this scheme has been reported extensively elsewhere, the article addresses the philosophical, practical and interpretive issues in the context of the English Heritage Conservation Principles. Needless to say, as Kenilworth is an English Heritage-managed site, the claim is one not of restoration but of ‘recreation or re-presentation’. The appropriateness of this is posed in the context of Morris’s and Ruskin’s views about any attempt to restore the past: ‘a feeble and lifeless forgery is the final result of all the wasted labour’. As, in the real world, works are exempt from, for example, the building regulations, the application of the conservation principles might be better tested by way of the Planning Inspectorate. On a broader scale, Peter Kendall considers Chatham and the fortifications built for the defence of the dockyard as a militarised landscape. This is in need of positive management. Kendall explores the physical survival, significance, communal values and enjoyment of military heritage assets as the basis for inscription as a world heritage site. Rena Pitsilli-Graham provides some valuable insights into specifying, tendering and training of operatives as the preliminaries to the very challenging restoration of Hadlow Tower at Tonbridge in Kent. The tower has similarities to Thomas Beckford’s eccentric Fonthill Abbey. Built as an octagonal folly in 1838 at 44 metres high, a lantern added a further nine metres in 1840. The upper part was rendered in Parker’s patent cement. After severe deterioration, Tonbridge and Malling District Council carried out emergency repairs in 1993 after compulsory purchase. The current repairs involve a consortium including the local authority and the Vivat Trust. There are immense practical challenges, not least the height. The project has been able to take advantage of Europewide research into the historic use of Roman cement (ROCEM), which in turn has necessitated the introduction of prospective tenderers to the nature of natural cement and the need for appropriate specialist training. Reference was made above to the application of the English Heritage Conservation Principles. In a very informative article John Neale of English Heritage takes these as a meditation on the general sense in which the term ‘restoration’ is used to describe attempts to revive what are considered to be a building’s interest or character. Neale does not advance a systematic argument but explores the issue through the medium of six transactions volume 33 2010 AssociAtion for studies in the conservAtion of historic buildings
C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 7 practical examples (all in Essex). Concluding that the principles are less dogmatic than Morris’s SPAB Manifesto definition of restoration, he offers a cautious contribution to what he describes as a ‘long-running conversation’. He poses the question: do the conservation principles provide a logical framework for making decisions about conservation, based on an understanding of the values of those using it, or is the consideration of heritage values that is central to the document framed in such a way as to reflect, at least faintly, the particular values that have evolved in a century and a quarter since the publication of SPAB’s Manifesto? Lastly, ChristopherYoung refers to the shifting focus of international conventions and charters (there are 17) which provide the international guidance on conservation of the historic environment, but which appear in a bewildering range of formats and descriptions. Some have legal force, some are advisory, some are produced by government organisations, some are not. Useful summary tables give the titles and purpose of key documents, and the relationship between international guidance and national practice is helpfully explained.Young concludes, however, that apart from ‘the 1972 World Heritage Convention, and the Charters and other documents which are regarded almost as doctrinal, the mass of international guidance which exists does not repay further study’. Young sees Hague (1907), Athens (1931), Hague (1954) and Athens (1964) as key moments, but reflecting the preoccupations and pressing problems of their time. He detects trends in broader definitions of heritage and what might be achieved internationally, updating Hague (war); and for UNESCO underwater heritage (2001)’ intangible heritage (2003) and cultural diversity (2005). But he considers that, rather than producing new guidance, international organisations should devote more effort to promoting and using what they have already. By the time you read this, much (English) government policy and guidance on the historic environment (PPS5) may well have been swept away. TheVictorian (No 37, July 2011) devotes itself to the bi-centenary of Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811–78). He was the most successful architect of his day and the most prominent architect of 19th century Britain. Gavin Stamp sums up the changing attitudes to an architect responsible for many more listed buildings than any other – 607. Scott’s cathedral restorations were the bête noire of the SPAB. In a bit of revisionism, Claudia Marx argues that Scott was no reckless destroyer of ancient ecclesiastical fabric, but a conservative cathedral restorer with a respect for authenticity. This looks like a red-rag to a bull in some quarters.You may wish to seek out this issue to decide on which side of the debate about Scott you stand. All this at a time when the society is justifiably celebrating the final fruits of one of its longest and most difficult campaigns, the reopening of the refurbished Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras – for many, one of Scott’s most recognisable works. In the May issue of Context I referred to the wide-ranging coverage of engineering history in the Institution of Civil Engineers Proceedings on Engineering History and Heritage. Volume 164, issue EH2 (May 2011), which has now appeared, deals with the design, testing and development history of the second world war Bailey Bridge; the development of earthquake-resistant construction in Italy following the devastating Messina earthquake of 1908; the first part of a two-part paper on the success of pre-stressed concrete bridges in Germany in the period up to 1965; and an invaluable overview of the life and work of the now rather overlooked Scottish civil engineer WilliamTierney Clark, whose most celebrated structure is the iconic Chain Bridge in Budapest of 1849. Sándor Váci, a London-based engineer, charts the historical context of Clark’s achievements as a ‘bridge builder par excellence’. Váci describes his first three suspension bridges and his life in Hammersmith. He gives an excellent account of Clark’s work in Hungary on the famous bridge under the patronage of Count István Széchenyi and explains the significance of this project in the process of 19th-century Hungarian political reform. Clark’s engineering drawings of the Budapest bridge and other contemporary illustrations are particularly informative. I customarily but intermittently report from the Newsletter of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (issue 32, June 2011) of research awards likely to lead to publications of interest to conservation professionals. Awards have recently been made to Matthew Walker for Genus Architectus: the architect in England, 1650–1700; Lydia M Soo for The Places and Spaces of Architectural Discourse in Restoration London; Miranda Roth for The Idea of the Renaissance in British Architecture, 1750–1890; Oliver Bradbury for A Forgotten Legacy: from Benjamin Henry Latrobe to Philip Johnson, Sir John Soane’s Influence on Architecture, 1800–1975; Christine Casey for Ornament and Architecture: architects, stuccatori and the eighteenth-century interior; Susan Cowan for Eulogies to Fallen Monuments: British architectural criticism and the mourning of buildings damaged in world war iI; and Rebecca Shields for The Space Between: politics and urban development in seventeenth-century London. Last, but by no means least, I have been asked by DanWild of the Association of Small Historic Towns and Villages (ASHTAV) to draw attention to a downloadable 40-page e-magazine which may be of interest to readers. This is accessible at www.ashtav.org.uk/page6. Bob Kindred MBE
8 C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 Period windows. Modern performance. The Wood Windows Alliance is a group of leading names in the UK wood window industry, working together to raise standards and promote quality and sustainability Our members meet history head-on every day, creating high performance, environmentally-friendly windows and doors that retain the character of period originals so well, you are unlikely to spot the difference. Our factory-finished windows and doors offer ‘A-C’ energy ratings and a minimum estimated service life of 60 years, combined with the elegant sections and slender glazing bars to replicate period sightlines. To find a member, or to download the new WWA Conservation brochure, visit www.woodwindowalliance.com ACANTHUS ARCHITECTS CONSERVATION HISTORIC BUILDINGS CONSERVATION LED REGENERATION NEW BUILDINGS IN HISTORIC ENVIRONMENTS Blackburn House, West Lothian – Angus Bremner www.acanthus.co.uk BANBURY Acanthus Clews Architects 01295 702600 CHISWICK Acanthus LW Architects 020 8994 2288 Edinburgh Simpson & Brown Architects 0131 555 4678 HUNTLY Acanthus Architects DF 01466 793400 LEEDS Acanthus WSM Architects 0113 239 3414 PEMBROKE Acanthus Holden Architects 01646 685472 TUNBRIDGE WELLS Stuart Page Architects 01892 862548
C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 9 IHBC Annual School Annual School 2011 School 2011 IHBC An 2011 IHBC Annual S IHBC Annual School School 2011 IHBC IHBC Annual Scho IHBC Annual School 2011 Navigating the shallows: conservation and stewardship in uncertain times ‘Navigating the shallows’ sounds like the title of a manual for bargees. It proved to be an inspired strapline for a discussion about how to maintain our profession in these straightened times. A large number of IHBC members are employed by local government, where the funding coffers, especially for historic building work, are distinctly shallow. Llandudno was the natural choice for a North Wales venue. It has outstanding architectural merit, good connections by train, and a central location for touring other historic sites and places of interest. A single conference and accommodation venue encourages networking. The seafront at Llandudno never fails to impress for its architectural integrity and elegant curve. Our base for the three days was the seafront St George’s Hotel. Llandudno owes its distinctive look to the influence of the Mostyn family, which has lived in the area since at least the mid-16th century. The town’s grid plan was laid out by the Mostyn Estate in 1849, and the estate still retains considerable control over design and detailing. Nathan Blanchard and his local team organised an excellent mix of visits and lectures. He made it all look so easy, although we know that organising an IHBC School is anything but that. On Thursday afternoon we divided into groups. One went first to Bodnant Gardens, one of the most popular National Trust properties, now with improved access and tea room facilities. From there to Gwydir Castle to see the quite remarkable rescue carried out by its current owners. This major 16th century North Wales house is a rare example of a place where historic fittings were removed, and then recovered and reinstated nearly a century later. Another group went to Penmaenmawr, where 19th century prime minister William Gladstone liked to holiday, to see the successful townscape heritage initiative project. Then on to Llanfairfechan, a delight for enthusiasts of the arts and crafts. Herbert Luck North, the architect of the Close, including his own house within it, has long been underappreciated. Thanks to Adam Voelcker, this is no longer the case: Voelcker’s beautifully written and produced Royal Commission monograph on North was selling like hot cakes at the Day School. North’s work is highly individual yet utterly delightful. His buildings instantly make you want to live in them. The final group had a tour of the splendid Conwy Castle and its medieval town walls. Conwy is one of the best-preserved medieval walled towns in Europe. The evening reception was at the Oriel Mostyn Gallery, the largest contemporary art gallery in Wales. It made a splendid venue for a reception to launch the Annual School. We were welcomed by the portfolio holder for the environment of Conwy, Councillor Philip Evans. Tony Barton of Donald Insall Architects, a sponsor of the School, addressed us. He told us that Insalls still had many clients with large historic buildings (and no money), who were being pressed into doing the right thing by conservation officers. His message: ‘keep up the good work!’ The promenade, Llandudno (Photo: RobertWalker) Tour groups preparing to depart from St George’s Hotel
10 C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 Annual School ual School 2011 ool 2011 IHBC An 11 IHBC Annual S HBC Annual School School 2011 IHBC IHBC Annual Scho The main business of the evening was to understand the building and its Civic Trust and RIBA Awards-winning expansion, opened 2011. In this we were well assisted by Martin Barlow, the gallery’s director, and Dominic Williams of Ellis Williams Architects, who took guided tours in turn. The gallery was founded in 1901 by Lady Henrietta Augusta Mostyn, artist, philanthropist and town-planning enthusiast. The world’s first gallery for women artists, it was built in direct competition to the Royal Cambrian Academy in Conwy, which excluded women from exhibiting. The four-storey terracotta frontage was designed by George Alfred Humphrey, the Mostyn Estate architect, in a flamboyant free classical style, with a glass and cast-iron veranda over the pavement and a spire above. There were shops to the front either side of an entrance corridor leading to two galleries behind. In 2007 the opportunity to expand into the flanking shops and a mews to the rear led to a £5.1 million investment. Ellis Williams was chosen because of its successful work on the Baltic Centre at Gateshead. The team included consultant artist Lois Williams, who called for ‘simplicity, sophistication and one or two surprises’. The only outward sign of the refurbishment is the cladding of the spire with 128 gold-anodised tiles. Consent for a proposal to remodel the veranda as a contemporary entrance was not forthcoming. As a result the modesty of the original entrance does not prepare one for the surprise that the shop and reception desk at the front are linked to the galleries behind by an atrium built of cast-insitu concrete, crossed by a flying walkway. The shuttering was made of 100mm sand-blasted boards that leave a rustic imprint on the angular concrete form. It gives the gallery a dramatic contemporary twist, although those of a certain age might see it as 1960s retro. The whole project is complemented by a very high standard of finishes, including finely detailed oak flooring with machined slots for warm air heating and a most civilised cafe. Having repaired to various hostelries around town, some of us for longer than others, we all turned up for the Day School on Friday. This was held in the magnificent Wedgwood Room, with its imitation blue jasper cornices. Richard Dean (chair of the Wales branch) introduced the day with the strapline Dire Straits. He referred to the forthcoming Heritage Protection Bill for Wales, the expectation of Wales having its own building regulations in 2012, and the increasing need for us, in our work, to adapt to climate change. At the time of organising the Day School we had a heritage minister in Wales, Alun Ffred Jones, who was booked to deliver the keynote address. Since then there had been a Welsh Assembly election, and the new portfolio of regeneration, housing and heritage was now held by Huw Lewis. The minister was unfortunately not able to be with us in person but he did send a short video message. There followed excellent talks, starting with Judith Cligman of the Heritage Lottery Fund. She told us that since 1994 the HLF had given £4.6 billion in grant aid to 31,000 projects – a scale of contribution to the preservation of our heritage that few of us perhaps had appreciated. Fred Taggart followed with a powerful demonstration of the economic value of heritage. He used statistics from the evaluation of a project in Cornwall, which paid for itself over about eight years. John Edwards then talked about heritage skills and getting the right people for the job. At question time, John Yates probed a bit deeper into the ‘navigating the shallows’ context. He pointed out that, just as boats navigate slower in shallower waters, so it might be time to look for ‘meanwhile’ solutions that keep buildings maintained and in use in some way or other until such time as the economy picks up and longer term more ambitious work can be funded. This sparked some interesting debate. Nicholas Falk warned in his talk that the shallows often have rocks. The government’s cutting of red tape had to be properly thought through to avoid cutting it in such a Tony Barton of Donald Insall Associates, the sponsors of the evening event, addresses delegates at the Oriel Mostyn Gallery reception, with (left) Philip Evans of Conwy County Borough Council, Eddie Booth IHBC and, (right) Elinor Gray-Williams of the Conwy office of Donald Insall Associates.
C O N T E X T 1 2 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 11 IHBC Annual School Annual School 2011 School 2011 IHBC An 2011 IHBC Annual S IHBC Annual School School 2011 IHBC IHBC Annual Scho way as to make projects more complex. Falk challenged us to consider whether we should accept that not all buildings could be saved. Should buildings without roofs be regarded as ‘dead’? The question he posed about whether we could make do with fewer expensive technical studies struck a chord with many of us. Tony Burton of Civic Voice followed with a very polished talk about engagement with the community who, he said, could contribute a great deal more than councils sometimes believe. He talked about the proposed ‘community right to protect’ arising out of the Localism Bill. He invited us to do the ‘heritage challenge’. Phil Roach, IHBC Wales’ very own answer to Max Boyce, gave a diverse talk about many aspects of Welsh culture. He pointed out the gap that heritage professionals sometimes had to bridge to get our message across. The fact that we valued a Georgian dresser so much more than the adjacent sash window by the same craftsman was so true, yet so frustrating. As was the story of Dai on his island building a chapel that he resolutely would not go to. Jim MacDonald talked about Learning Towns and Delivering Better Places, both initiatives of Architecture and Design Scotland. Rob Cowan of Urban Design Skills concluded with a masterful talk about how we could get it so wrong with modern development. No wonder, perhaps, when he explained that 84 per cent of planning applications were submitted by people with no design training. He had kindly arranged for a free copy of his excellent recent publication Qualityreviewer to be in our delegate packs. Some of us are still trying to get our heads round Berthold Lubetkin’s view, reported by Cowan, that ‘There are only four kinds of artistic activity: fine art, music, poetry and ornamental pastry cooking, of which architecture is a minor branch.’ Jo Evans reflects on the Annual Dinner in her Notes from the chair (p36). The School rounded off with visits on Saturday morning. One group went to Conwy, principally to see Plas Mawr, the remarkable Elizabethan town house now lime-rendered and in Cadw’s care. Another group went to Lady Forester’s Convalescent Home to see what the private sector had achieved in adapting and extending a fine early 20th century building, keeping it in the use for which it was originally built. They went on to St George’s School, a highly regarded example of what a building preservation trust can achieve by rescuing an historic building for community benefit. The third group went further afield to Penrhyn Quarry. They were taken up to the heights of an extraordinary industrial landscape and given the opportunity to try their hand at splitting slate. Penrhyn has provided roofing material for buildings all over the world. It was heartening there was still steady demand for this quality Welsh product. So ended another successful IHBC Annual School. Edward Holland, with help from Eddie Booth and Jo Evans The tour of the Oriel Mostyn Gallery: left, DominicWilliams of Ellis Williams Architects points out recent repairs and alterations; and, right, Dave Chetwyn and Trefor Thorpe discover kinetic artwork in the gallery’s extension Delegates visiting the Penrhyn Quarry (Photo: RobertWalker) Qualityreviewer: distributed to delegates
www.ihbc.org.ukRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=