18 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 and its setting than the more comprehensive investment and intervention that might have resulted from the quick fix of an enabling development. Next stop was Warwick Bridge Corn Mill, where Graham Bell and Kathryn Banfield of the North of England Civic Trust (NECT) showed us around the Grade II* 1839 building and opened up a thoughtprovoking discussion on its possible future. Fortunate to retain most of its working machinery, the challenge for the mill is to continue its working life in a way that remains true to its purpose and that is economically sustainable, while still allowing for learning opportunities to take place during and after its conservation. NECT, which has been engaged as consultant by the owners, produced a useful hand-out that helped the group explore the conflicts between conservation and adaptive re-use.We discussed whether it might be better to develop it as a static or fully operational mill; and, in connection with the school’s theme of heritage skills and outreach, delegates were asked whether it would be better to make it a learning project with a building outcome, or a building project with a learning outcome.The enthusiastic discussion continued on the coach trip back into Carlisle. Graham Darlington Reception at Tullie House Museum Author andTV presenter John Grundy provided a highly entertaining, wide-ranging welcome to delegates as part of the evening reception at Tullie House Museum. Grundy was born in Cumbria and educated at Carlisle Grammar, where he was a contemporary of IHBC president Trefor Thorpe. He later moved to Newcastle where he trained as a teacher, and his enthusiasm for buildings and architectural history led to a further career as an author and TV presenter. He has written several books about Northumberland’s buildings and contributes regularly to BBC North East’s programmes on the arts and heritage of the area, including until recently a regular spot on ‘Look North’. His welcome followed a theme of Scottish aggression versus English ‘colonialisation’, Carlisle being inconveniently located at the interface of the two nations. The similarity of the buildings in Carlisle to Scottish examples is no accident: historically the city moved between attempted domination from the north to assertive settlement by first St Cuthbert, then the Normans and later various English monarchs. A famous example is the Royal Coat of Arms in St Cuthbert’s Church, which was erected after the last Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 in the original church to remind the clergy and citizens of Carlisle that their allegiance was to the kings and queens of England, not Scotland. Grundy took us through a rapid assimilation of facts about the local buildings, their historical references, materials and, most important, colours. The local sandstone is a rich variety of reds, with a few exceptions on the eastern side of the county where it is definitely ‘buff’, not ‘beige’. Until relative peace in the 18th century, Carlisle was regularly fought over by the Scots and English, so few medieval buildings remain apart from the castle, the remains of Carlisle Priory, and the cathedral, although even this was partly demolished during the Civil War. Outside the city, the earlier churches tend to be defensive in character, and there were no grand country houses until industrialisation in the 19th century brought new money. The change in the landscape about 18 miles to the north of Carlisle was also noted, with land dropping down to the Solway Firth and the buildings on the clay soil changing completely, with the use of timber and cob rather than stone. Katherine Banfield discusses the future of Warwick Bridge corn mill.
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