C O N T E X T 1 2 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 2 3 a 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) internal diameter and the cycle tunnel with a larger 12 ft (3.7 m) internal diameter. Both tunnels are 900 ft (274.5 m) in length, 40 ft (12.2 m) below the river bed. Only very minor alterations have been made to the surface buildings, escalators and tunnels since the 1950s. The tunnels are served by twoWaygood Otis wooden tread escalators and a vertical lift on each side of the river. The wooden Waygood-Otis escalators, with their original motors and machinery, are rare survivals, and are the longest continuous wooden escalators in the world. Capita Symonds is leading the design team for the project. Four horses Wellington Arch on London’s Hyde Park Corner has reopened as an exhibition space. The Quadriga Gallery will host a series of exhibitions that will explore the history and heritage of England. The Arch will also house a new permanent exhibition telling the history of this London landmark. Wellington Arch was built in 1828 as a grand outer gateway to Buckingham Palace and as a victory arch to commemorateWellington’s defeat of Napoleon. In 1883 it was dismantled and moved some 20 metres to its current location, becoming London’s smallest police station. The Quadriga Gallery is named after the enormous bronze sculpture (the largest in Europe) of the Angel of Peace and her four-horsed chariot which crowns the monument. The pod has landed The renovation of Grade I listed St Lawrence Church, in Alton, Hampshire, has incorporated a pod containing toilets, a kitchenette and vestry, with an outer glass skin. This was chosen as an alternative to extending the building. The glass installation was designed and constructed by architectural glass artist Derek Hunt. The church, which dates back to around 1070, played a role in the Battle of Alton in 1643 in the English Civil War. After two hours of the battle raging outside, around 80 Royalist soldiers were forced into the church itself. It is claimed that Colonel Bolle was fatally wounded in the pulpit. The south doors of the church still bear the scars of the musket balls fired by the Parliamentarians. Faith in maintenance A scheme to create a network of informed community groups dedicated to the care and repair of historic buildings used as places of worship has supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The aim of the Maintenance Cooperative Movement is to connect, encourage and support volunteers across the country who are largely responsible for looking after local landmarks. Building on the success of its HLFbacked Faith in Maintenance Project, SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) has received initial support from the HLF – including a development grant of £67,900 – for a successor scheme designed to create and sustain a series of local maintenance cooperatives. These will link groups of people caring for places of worship and encourage them to work together to tackle common problems. Heritage crime The first comprehensive survey on the effect of crime on England’s historic buildings and sites, commissioned by English Heritage, shows a worrying rate of damage. The survey estimates that some 70,000 listed buildings – 19 per cent of the stock of listed buildings in England – were physically harmed by crime last year. For some 30,000 listed buildings – eight per cent of the stock – the damage was substantial. Churches and other religious buildings face the greatest threat, with 38 per cent damaged by crime last year. Wind scheme challenged The National Trust, English Heritage and East Northamptonshire Council have launched a joint legal challenge against planning permission for a wind farm on a site within a mile of a Grade I listed building and registered park and garden. After the local authority initially refused planning permission, the scheme was approved on appeal. The planning inspector who granted approval described the Lyveden New Bield site as ‘probably the finest example of an Elizabethan garden [with a] cultural value of national if not international significance’. The proposal is for four 126.5-metre wind turbines. Out of the rain A loggia has been erected at Kensington Palace as part of wider landscaping works. Made by Chris Topp, the cast-iron structure took almost 3,000 hours from start to completion on site and used 24 different patterns. The controversial loggia, designed by John Simpson and Partners, is a new entrance for the palace and a commemorative structure for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The pod at St Lawrence Church, Alton: an alternative to building an extension
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