16 C O N T E X T 1 2 5 : J U LY 2 0 1 2 without significant historic fabric. An exception is the pavilion, grandstand and turnstiles at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham Football Club, which survive relatively intact and were famously listed in 1987 at Grade II. Designed by Archibald Leitch (1866–1939), the foremost football stadium designer of the early 20th century, and erected in 1905, they are unusual in the ornate treatment given to a building type that was most often austere and functional. Listing is not, as we know, about preservation. Rather it is a tool for careful management where sympathetic change is not excluded. Listed buildings are altered and sometimes even demolished when the appropriate tests are met. The original Wembley Stadium of 1923, listed at Grade II, was demolished to make way for the present stadium. As an example of how designation can make an unexpected difference, Arsenal football club’s Highbury Stadium has been carefully converted for apartments rather than being swept away. Here, thought provokingly, it was recognised by the imaginative developers that the listing of the built structure implicitly acknowledged the significance of the pitch, the area of which has been recognisably retained. The juncture of a playing surface with associated buildings is a common feature for sport, where the grass or hard playing surface is a significant part of the picture – whether it be at our major sporting venues or at the local bowling or tennis club. Designation of open green spaces is not appropriate, although some form part of municipal parks that are included on the Register of Parks and Garden of Historic Interest. In principle, of course, there is no reason why such sporting venues could not be considered for inclusion in locally designated conservation areas. Designation of hard surfaces is most unusual, listing being reserved for buildings and structures, but some street surfaces have been listed where they have been shown to be raised or excavated structures, and where there is significant historic Empire Pool interest and context. In this regard, the designation of surviving sections of the motor racing circuit at Brooklands in Surrey may at first seem surprising. Yet there is no doubting the circuit’s impressive nature. It is not simply a hard surface; its winding stretches of concrete are steeply banked on the bends up to a height of 31 feet, eloquently recalling those dramatic and dangerous days of early racing. Completed in 1907, it was the world’s first motor racing circuit and was deemed such a remarkable technological achievement that it was described, perhaps a little over-enthusiastically, as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. The total length of the outer circuit was 2.8 miles, and the lap record was held by John Cobb who, in October 1935, completed a lap in 1 minute 9.44 seconds, at an average speed of 143 miles per hour. Although there is no reason why the circuit could not be listed, it was in fact scheduled in 1975, encompassing the wider associated importance of Brooklands as an early aerodrome, and recognising that for future management of the circuit it was better envisaged as a monument. The associated clubhouse of 1907, where continuing use is clearly a consideration, is listed at Grade II*. Together they form a good example of how the different designation regimes can be applied, sometimes side by side, as appropriate. The bedrock of listing is the recognition of special architectural or design interest.While sports buildings can be unassuming and modest, reflecting perhaps the various origins of sports, they can also have as much genuine design quality as the best buildings. Lords The 1902 Royal Norfolk and SuffolkYacht Club at Lowestoft is listed Grade II, principally for architectural interest. (Photo: copyright David Collins, from English Heritage NMR)
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