4 C O N T E X T 1 3 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 3 The Canons’ Cloister, one of the oldest parts ofWindsor Castle, was built around 1350 to house the chapel’s resident canons, a purpose that has remained unchanged ever since. A two-year programme of external and internal refurbishment has included replacing roofing, repairs to stonework and timber, and work to address damage caused by earlier, clumsier attempts at building conservation.The work has been overseen by Martin Ashley Architects (Martin Ashley is surveyor of the fabric at St George’s Chapel). of historic material in the form of the material that made up the floor surface. The actual historic fabric can not now be recovered, nor can a precise match in terms of materials be made. A cement or concrete replacement floor, with or without impermeable damp proof membrane, would be aesthetically and technically inappropriate within a building of this age, and construction and could lead to problems with damp and altered flow of moisture through the fabric of the building. The unauthorised works fundamentally alter the scale and character of the rooms within the building, which had variable floor levels. This space now has a markedly different character and would previously have felt more enclosed. The space now feels damaged and has a negative character. Works being urgently necessary in the interests of safety or health, or for the preservation of the building, may be a defence to proceedings brought for in respect of a contravention of Sections 7 and 9 of the 1990 Listed Building Act. But there was no indication of any structural problems with the building prior to works beginning, and at no point had the owner raised any concerns over the building’s safety or stability. The 2007 English Heritage publication Culture and Entertainment Buildings Selection Guide describes the special historic and architectural importance of this unusual and important building type. It states: ‘Buildings in this category are extremely diverse. Some make a strong impression in the street, as a statement of their cultural and often civic aspirations, or to attract patrons inside.Yet it is often their interiors that are the determining factors when considering them for designation, and any listing will normally be based on the quality, rarity and/or good survival of the interior.’ SimonWent, currently a conservation officer for the States of Guernsey, is a director of Quatrefoil Consulting. Cold turtle An ice well has been uncovered in the basement of the Grade II* listed Royal Victoria Arcade in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Bricked up since the 1950s, the egg-shaped ice well (20ft in height with an 11ft diameter) could be unique in the British Isles. Of 2,099 ice houses and wells listed in The Ice Houses of Britain (Beamon and Roaf, 1990), only two are integral to a building. One, of a completely different design, is in a house near Northallerton. The other was destroyed during the second world war. The arcade’s ice well served the soup proprietor Charles Dixon in 1836. He sold turtle soup at 15 shillings (75p) a quart. Later the well was used by a fishmonger, and later to a confectioner to attend to the increasingly popular demand for confectionery in early Victorian Ryde. If you would like to know more about the ice well or have examples of similar ice wells, visit Historic Ryde Society’s website: www.historicrydesociety. com or email Diana Wood at admin@ historicrydesociety.com . Lee Byrne, project manager, Ryde Town Heritage Initiative The Mausoleum of Sir James Tillie in Saltash, Cornwall (top) and Saltaire United Reformed Church are among 17 heritage rescues shortlisted for the English Heritage Angel Awards, backed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.The awards celebrate the efforts of individuals and local groups to save derelict and severely damaged historic landmarks.
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