16 C O N T E X T 1 3 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 3 S C Annual School nual School 2012 chool 2013 IHBC An 011 IHBC Annual IHBC Annual School School 2013 IHBC IHBC Annual Scho 1092 and rebuilt in stone from 1120, it stands not far from Stanwix, the largest Roman fort along Hadrian’s Wall. The Union of the Crowns (of England and Scotland) in 1603 should have reduced the need for defended sites, but Carlisle is one of a small number of castles continuously garrisoned for over 900 years. It is said to have been the most besieged castle in England. The castle is now isolated from the city centre by a busy dual carriageway, which covers what was a ditch and allotments in medieval times. It must surely be one of the great highway crimes of the 1970s. On entering the castle through the outer gatehouse we were surprised to see that the outer ward parade ground is now used for car parking (by the army occupants). Ownership of the complex is not straightforward: the Napoleonic former barrack blocks around the parade ground are Ministry of Defence property used by the army, although some blocks are vacant, presenting opportunities for possible development – but car parking would need to be controlled.The inner ward belongs to the Crown and is managed by English Heritage. On our way to the Captain’s Tower, the entrance to the inner ward, Davison explained that interpretation of the archaeology in parts of the castle was difficult because of up to 1.5 metres of 19th century make-up. We toured the keep and met the English Heritage castle site manager, Ann Fidler-Robbins, for a discussion. The site is remarkably complete. We discussed the interpretation, particularly of the keep; the upper floors of the main entrance gate contain a conjectural reconstruction of what might have been. The keep has some really special stone carvings with a basic interpretation panel; the carvings contain so much more, but more research is needed to provide comprehensive interpretation. The completeness of the site creates enormous potential; as a fairly complete castle it is much visited by schools and used for education. It was suggested that storytellers could be used to good effect, but must be balanced against cost. We were disappointed we could not use the old wooden stair up to the keep roof with commanding views over Carlisle. Deemed unsafe, the roof awaits the possibility of a modern insertion into the 19th century brick-vaulted ceiling, but costs have become an issue for a sophisticated design. A simple costeffective solution was suggested following the example of the Jacobite memorial at Glenfinnan. The castle is under-visited compared to other English Heritage property. The rooftop view might draw more tourists to cross the offending dual carriageway using either the wonderful museum-style underpass or the millennium footbridge. Stephen Rickards Brampton conservation area action plan, and the arts-and-crafts church of St Martin Brampton is a small town eight miles from Carlisle. A study tour organised by Jules Brown of the North of England Civic Trust visited the church of St Martin, one of only two ecclesiastical buildings built by the Pre-Raphaelite architect Philip Webb. Built of local red sandstone, this church is resplendent with Morris and Co stained glass windows (many by Burne-Jones), which are best enjoyed from within. Church warden Evelyn Alexandra talked about the history of the building, including roof repairs undertaken in 1986, when ‘the situation was pretty dire, with 17 buckets placed around the church to catch water’.There was no doubt among delegates that this was a very familiar issue. A more unusual issue was raised by Alex Haynes, a stained glass conservator who advised on some of the conservation issues arising when he had undertaken work to conserve glass in the church. He explained that in its quest for authentic methods the arts and crafts movement fired the glass at a lower temperature, just as medieval craftsmen once did. This now gives rise to loss of pigment and the serious fading of detail to glass in some areas, for example the face of St Martin in the east window, which has virtually no colour left. Haynes commented that modern conservation practice gave rise to some opposing ways of dealing with that issue. One approach would be to replace the face of St Martin with new glass, coloured and detailed according to the artist’s original vision. Another would be to make a replacement in plain glass, to recognise that the original was now lost. Haynes felt that both methods had validity in terms of conservation principles. Jules Brown introduced Bob Alan and Dave Moorat of Brampton Parish Council. They were justifiably proud of their conservation area, but felt that the area could be so much more – as a touring base, for example.The group walked to the Moot House, considering The entrance to Carlisle Castle (Photo: RobertWalker)
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