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
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