Institute of Historic Building Conservation No 134 May 2014 Timber conservation and repair Repairing Harmondsworth Barn The science of replacing historic timber Restoring Mount Stewart’s joinery
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C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 1 Cover: Timber-framed houses in Lavenham, Suffolk (Photo: Gergo Orban, Shutterstock) www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a charity in England andWales number 1061593 and in Scotland number SC041945. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road,TunbridgeWells, Kent TN2 4QZ. Officers President Trefor Thorpe, president@ihbc.org.uk Chair Mike Brown, chair@ihbc.org.uk Vice Chair Emilia McDonald, vchair@ihbc.org.uk Secretary Eddie Booth, ihbcsecretary@ihbc.org.uk Treasurer Richard Morrice, treasurer@ihbc.org.uk National Office Director Seán O’Reilly, director@ihbc.org.uk Projects Officer Fiona Newton, projects@ihbc.org.uk Consultant Consultations Coordinator James Caird, consultations@ihbc.org.uk Membership Services Officer Carmen Moran, membershipservices@ihbc.org.uk Administration Officer Lydia Porter, admin@ihbc.org.uk Committee Chairs Policy David Kincaid, policy@ihbc.org.uk Membership & Ethics Paul Butler, membership@ihbc.org.uk Finance & Resources Richard Morrice, resources@ihbc.org.uk Education David McDonald, education@ihbc.org.uk Communications & Outreach Charles Strang, communications@ihbc.org.uk Branch Officers North Geoff Underwood, 0191 433 3435 NorthWest Crispin Edwards, 0161 474 2620 Yorkshire David Blackburn, 01943 603479 West Midlands Charles Shapcott, 0121 7044312 East Midlands Roy Lewis, 01623 756623 South Julia Foster, 01296 585888 SouthWest JamesWebb, 01202 732849 East Anglia David Andrews, 07760 208231 South East Sean Rix, 01483 523379 London JohnWebb, 020 8461 1190 Scotland Stuart Eydmann, 07525 479835 Wales Nathan Blanchard, 01492 583443 Northern Ireland Colin Hatrick, 028 9064 1126 Republic of Ireland Cormac O’Sullivan, 00353 5677 62907 Institute ofHistoricBuildingConservation No 134May 2014 Timber conservation and repair RepairingHarmondsworthBarn The science of replacing historic timber RestoringMountStewart’s joinery 2 Briefing 5 Letters 6 Obituary: Jim Souness Aonghus MacKechnie 6 The writer’s voice 7 Out of context 8 Periodically Bob Kindred Timber conservation and repair 12 Our strange relationship with timber 13 Timber conservation and repair Robert Demaus 17 Ventilation and timber decay Brian Ridout 19 Repairing Harmondsworth Barn Toby Murphy and Iain McCaig 22 The science of replacing historic timber Mike Jarvis and Kate Hudson-McAulay 24 Restoring Mount Stewart’s joinery David McClimond 27 Birdcombe Court’s heart of oak Rebecca Milford 29 Discovering Tayfield bee-house Matthew Price 32 The movable house Nathalie Sorensen 35 Repairing wooden windows Darren McLean 39 Research into traditional timber joints Richard Harris, Wen-Shao Chang, Peter Walker and Jon Shanks 44 Timber repairs at Scarisbrick Hall Ian Weir 46 Assessment for listing Tony Calladine 49 From sites and monuments to the historic environment Seán O’Reilly 51 Notes from the chair 53 Director’s cut 56 Vox pop 57 Book reviews 61 Products and services 64 Advertisers index
2 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 Editor Rob Cowan Editorial Coordinator Fiona Newton, 01507 602567 editorial@ihbc.org.uk Editorial Board Nigel Crowe Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Rebecca Madgin Fiona Newton (chair) Michael Taylor Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2014 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury,Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA 01747 871717 context@cathcomm.co.uk www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to corporate bodies at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £60.00 Elsewhere £90.00 The views expressed in Context are not necessarily held by the IHBC or the publisher. Neither the publisher nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication.While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this issue of Context is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. Briefing Context Copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November. The next five copy deadlines are: July, issue 135 16 May September, issue 136 18 July November, issue 137 12 September March, issue 138 16 January May, issue 139 13 March Social enterprise and re-use The Prince’s Regeneration Trust (PRT) has been awarded a £200,000 Big Lottery Fund development grant to establish an innovative social enterprise fund aimed at boosting capacity, confidence and wellbeing in deprived communities across the UK through the adaptive reuse of at-risk locally important buildings. The PRT has developed a concept for a new fund aimed at investors seeking to use their capital to generate social impact as well as financial return. The trust will develop its concept into a detailed business case for investors, demonstrating the financial viability of the fund, how its social impact will be assessed and how the trust will work in partnership with other organisations to maximise the fund’s effectiveness. The first Georgians Graham Tite writes: The Royal Collection is showing ‘The First Georgians: art and monarchy 1714– 1760’ the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace until 12 October. The exhibition celebrates 300 years since George I ascended the British throne. So much that is familiar to us derives from these times up to 1760, the year in which his descendant George III became king and the so-called ‘late Georgian’ period began. This was to last until 1837 and the beginning of Victoria’s reign. These terms will be familiar to most Context readers, especially from listed building descriptions. The business of listing was set up in the late 1940s largely to identify this group of buildings, with a view to their preservation. Up to that time the A Grade II listed building at Brixton Prison has been converted by architect Purcell into a 100-seat restaurant run by some of its prisoners.The new Clink restaurant is in the Grade II listed former Governor’s House.The restaurant is linked to a new professional kitchen in an adjacent building.
C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 3 The Green Deal, ECO and recent planning decisions John Preston writes: The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) continues to promote the Green Deal. An extra £80 million funding was announced at Ecobuild. Meanwhile, changes to Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) are letting the Big Six energy companies (who have achieved only 25 per cent of their targets) off the hook. They can now count over-achievements under the CERT and CESP schemes (concluded in 2012) as ‘qualifying actions’ under ECO. It has been claimed that this will cut back ECO works by 15 per cent. The ECO target of solid-wall insulation projects (now by 2017) has been reduced to 100,000, still a very significant target with major impacts on traditional buildings. There have been two other changes to ECO with particular significance for Context readers. First, the scoring rules for glazing installations now allow credit to be gained for the full energy savings. This follows pressure from the glazing industry, and will lead to more pressure for replacement windows. Second, references to a specific U value for solid-wall insulation installations have been removed, so the order aligns with building regulations. This is at least partly due to the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance’s work in showing that the original ECO U-value target of 0.3 is unachievable. In linking to the building regulations, it also provides scope for a more flexible approach to breathable buildings. The DECC-funded STBA Guidance Wheel and Knowledge Base are now live at http://responsible-retrofit.org/. I urge readers to try them out and to think about possible case studies. By the time you read this, it is likely that the long-awaited DECC consultation on Private Rented Sector Regulations will have finally emerged. Unlike the Green Deal, these regulations will compel landlords to undertake works. It is vital that these regulations, which are likely to set precedents for future initiatives across other sectors, take account of traditional buildings. Potential or claimed precedents are emerging in planning decisions, as balances between energy conservation and special architectural or historic interest are tested. One completed project in Cambridge (openecohomes. org/wp-content/.../Melbourne-PlaceCase-Study.pdf) involved replacing 1960s alterations while leaving the fabric and features of the Grade II The Royal Palace of Kensington in about 1720–30, by Overton and Hoole. Courtesy of the Royal Collection history of our architecture effectively came to an end in 1714 with the death of the last Stuart, Queen Anne, absurd though that now appears. The show in London and its superb catalogue (nearly 500 pages) do much to refresh appetites for all the early Georgian forms of art, including architecture, engraving and mapmaking, the latter being developed under the stimulus of artillery warfare. The same half-century saw the London careers of such well-liked immigrants as Handel and Canaletto. Relations with Germany, Italy and France are thoroughly explored. Recent scholarship, as seen in the catalogue, moves easily between the courts of Europe and between the arts, linking London and such regal residences as Kensington Palace, Richmond and Kew with well-travelled and eclectic figures such as William Kent. ‘Early Georgian’ was once regarded as a wholly native style but now its connections with Europe can be more fully understood. Graham Tite, conservation officer, BEAMS The cost of coal A memorial centre has been created to commemorate the sacrifices made by those involved in Scotland’s coal mining industry. The National Mining Memorial Centre is at the National Mining Museum Scotland at the Lady Victoria Colliery, Newtongrange, near Edinburgh. The Lady Victoria Colliery opened in 1895. At its peak it employed around 2,000 people and over the course of its lifetime it reportedly produced a record 36 million tonnes of coal. The mine closed in 1981 and the museum was established in 1984 to preserve its remaining buildings. It remains one of the best preserved Victorian collieries in Europe. The 1932 Re-washer Building, which had lain empty for over 30 years, is now the last stop on the museum’s tour through the history of coal, with memorial, exhibition and storytelling spaces. The top floor is a secular memorial space that features a black memorial table formed from coal. Purcell is the memorial centre’s architect. The National Mining Memorial Centre occupies the 1930s former Re-washer Building.
4 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 Local Development Plan 2010. ‘8. Improved levels of insulation are clearly an important component in the drive towards more resourceefficient buildings. However, the authority’s guide to sustainable design (adopted June 2011) provides advice on a range of other measures that can improve resource efficiency in ways that would not be at the expense of local distinctiveness. I therefore do not consider that the harm and conflict with planning policy that I have identified would be justified or outweighed by the benefits of the additional insulation. ‘9. Neighbours’ concerns about the effect of the insulation on the breathability of the traditional stone walls are supported to an extent by Welsh Office Circular 61/96, the appendix to Annex D of which advises that non-porous coatings can form a barrier which prevents moisture being trapped within walls from evaporating, leading to problems arising from damp. However, the performance and suitability of the particular system installed in this instance is a matter principally for the installer. It is therefore not a consideration that has influenced my decision. ‘10. I have taken into account all other matters that have been raised, including that the materials used carry a guarantee and that the exterior of the building should not need redecorating for many years. However I find no material considerations that would indicate that the appeal should be 16 The Terrace, Rosebush, on the Pembrokeshire Coast.The appeal related to the refusal of retrospective planning permission for the installation of external wall insulation. building as intact as possible.Work is about to start, following approval by the National Planning Casework Unit, on the very contentious major refurbishment of Grade I-listed New Court, Trinity College. A very significant planning appeal (APP/L9503/A/13/2190536) has shown how strong policies can afford protection to unlisted buildings in areas such as national parks and conservation areas. The appeal related to the refusal of retrospective planning permission for the installation of external wall insulation (in partnership with British Gas and the Welsh Assembly Nest scheme) at 16 The Terrace, Rosebush, Clunderwen, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The appeal was dismissed. The inspector identified the main issue as being ‘the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of Rosebush Terrace’. The inspector noted: ‘4. Rosebush Terrace is a row of former quarry workers’ cottages, built in the late 19th century…The authority’s concerns relate only to external wall insulation applied to the access frontage of the appeal property. This is a layer of insulation board fixed over the original stone walling. It is… up to about 120mm thick. ‘5. Rosebush Terrace has been altered over time. Some houses retain their original stonework finish. Others are now rendered. External walls have been painted in a variety of colours, and there is also much variety in window type and roof finish. However, many traditional features have been retained and to a substantial degree the terrace remains in its original condition. The quality of the terrace’s architecture is good, and it is in a prominent position and has a significant influence on the landscape. It is closely associated with historic slate quarrying in the area. Because of its history, vernacular architecture and construction I consider that it should be regarded as a building which makes an important contribution to the character and interest of the local area. ‘6. Photographs show that prior to the insulation being installed the appeal property had an exposed stonework wall finish and traditional window cills. These features would have contributed significantly to the building’s traditional vernacular character. In contrast, because of its thickness, it is now apparent that a non-traditional external wall treatment has been applied. As the traditional cills have either been removed or covered by the thickness of the insulation the vernacular appearance of the window openings has been lost.While the cream colour does not look out of place, the selfcoloured render is smooth and modern in appearance. ‘7. I consider for these reasons that the installation of the insulation has significantly adversely affected the distinctive appearance and architectural integrity of the terrace. Its retention would therefore conflict with Policies 14, 15(e) and 20(d) of the adopted Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 5 A marketing suite has been installed on the roof of the annexe to Grade II* listed Battersea Power Station. Around 254 apartments will be created within the existing facades of the western and eastern flanks of the power station and on top of the central boiler house.The master plan by architect RafaelViñoly provides for more than 3,400 new homes, offices, shops, restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, community and leisure space, and 18 acres of open space. The home of former prime minister Edward Heath has reopened to the public. Arundells in Salisbury, where Heath lived until his death in 2005, contains a collection of artefacts relating to his interests in music, sailing and politics. The 18th century Grade II* listed house, parts of which date back to the 13th century, has a two-acre medieval walled garden.The house shows six distinct architectural periods, including black portcullis windows from the 14th century, a Queen Anne facade, a Jacobean wing and a Georgian staircase window. determined other than in accordance with the development plan…’ I am indebted to Mike Harlow of English Heritage for alerting me to this appeal, and to Liam Jones of the Pembrokeshire National Park Authority for providing the photographs. Jones writes: ‘Following the appeal decision the owner removed the cladding… The insulation was installed at the front and rear of the property. Given that our only concerns related to the front elevation, we allowed the retention of the insulation on the rear elevation, finding that further action would not be expedient. The rear elevation of the Letters The quality of conservation courses From John Fidler, Los Angeles Readers of IHBC’s online NewsBlog on 25 April 2014 will have seen a glowing announcement about a new master’s course at Birmingham University School of Architecture. Good for Birmingham: I wish the programme well. But why not have new conservation courses in every university in the UK and the rest of the world. There is infinite demand, isn’t there? Not at all. When I was a lad, there were six courses:York and Heriot Watt, plus Leicester, Liverpool, the AA and Bristol. Few were fully sustainable even then. Now the COTAC website lists 19 postgraduate courses, not including Sheffield School of Architecture and UCL’s Centre for Sustainable Heritage). Who writes the business models for these courses? Few of them are fully attended. The number of specialist faculty to do the rounds is diminishing. Fewer and fewer architects are being trained in the field, despite the courses being mostly based in schools of architecture (shame on the RIBA for this). Hardly any architect-planners (the long-lost and lamented back-bone of the former county council conservation teams) now exist. And the ‘generalists’ emanating from the programmes leave much to be desired. It is all very well for the IHBC and COTAC to recognise a plethora of courses and whoever signs up to the ICOMOS Guidelines for Education and Training but does anyone actually believe that standards are retained or increasing? Why doesn’t the IHBC combine with the RIBA, RTPI, RICS and Icon and formally validate courses? Simply badging them discredits all involved. I hear a deafening silence from English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Cadw and others on this issue. So much for strategic delivery in straitened times. Will nobody reel in free-market interests in so-called higher education? And the situation is as bad here in the USA. John Fidler property was characterised by a singlestorey flat roof extension. Various larger neighbouring extensions such that the cladding caused no harm to visual amenity at the rear.’ The planning inspector dealt with this appeal purely in terms of the planning issues and policies, not technical aspects. It is not clear what happened as regards building regulations: the special consideration for breathable buildings under Part L would surely have been relevant. John Preston, vice-chair of IHBC policy committee, is an artist, consultant and lecturer.
6 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 Obituary Jim Souness, conservationist and planner James Ronald Souness (1954–2013) was known to many in the IHBC, having been a member for many years. He was established in his early career in the 1970s in the world of historic buildings conservation and he continued that interest to the end. No one before him wrote official memos on Historic Scotland casefiles in Gaelic. No one among his colleagues was as physically hands-on in practical conservation, and in carrying out thatching repairs and re-roofings. No one else had a mysterious source of fresh-quarried slate. Souness was an Edinburgh man with many personae and priorities: family; work as a planner and then historic buildings inspector; conservation; the outdoors; scholarship; culture and nation – Scotland, and Gaeldom. To his Highland friends, he was never Jim, but Seumas. And Seumas would speak Gaelic to whomever, whenever he could. After university he worked as a planner and conservation specialist for Argyll and Bute Council. He discovered his true natural habitat there. He adopted the culture, language and perspectives of the Highlands, becoming in the process an expert thatcher, and an authority on Gaelic culture and on the history of the Highlands. He was indignant at how absentee landlordism impacted on society and on how Gaelic was subordinated. Gentle, always, in the way he dealt with friends and strangers, his politics were on immediate display: for Souness, Gaelic should be lionised, not subverted; Scotland should be ruled not by Westminster but by the people of Scotland. The family moved to Innerleithen when Souness was appointed to a post with Borders Council. In 1995, he was appointed historic buildings inspector with Historic Scotland, advising on works affecting historic buildings, on grant applications, and notably on the governmentfunded Thatched Houses Scheme. Among his interests was enjoying nature, be that climbing in Europe’s highest mountain ranges, canoeing in the Tay, or camping in his beloved Argyll, living off the land. He knew how to have fun, and he enjoyed life far more than most of the rest of us appear to do, always with an up-beat attitude towards the world and a direct questioning of orthodoxies. It is difficult not to smile when you hear his name. Aonghus MacKechnie, Historic Scotland From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius The fundamental principles of architecture 1. Architecture depends on order, arrangement, eurythmy, symmetry, propriety and economy. 2. Order gives due measure to the members of a work considered separately, and symmetrical agreement to the proportions of the whole. It is an adjustment according to quantity. By this I mean the selection of modules from the members of the work itself and, starting from these individual parts of members, constructing the whole work to correspond. Arrangement includes the putting of things in their proper places and the elegance of effect which is due to adjustments appropriate to the character of the work. Its forms of expression are these: groundplan, elevation, and perspective. A groundplan is made by the proper successive use of compasses and rule, through which we get outlines for the plane surfaces of buildings. An elevation is a picture of the front of a building, set upright and properly drawn in the proportions of the contemplated work. Perspective is the method of sketching a front with the sides withdrawing into the background, the lines all meeting in the centre of a circle. All three come of reflexion and invention. Reflexion is careful and laborious thought, and watchful attention directed to the agreeable effect of one’s plan. Invention, on the other hand, is the solving of intricate problems and the discovery of new principles by means of brilliancy and versatility. These are the departments belonging under arrangement. 3. Eurythmy is beauty and fitness in the adjustments of the members. This is found when the members of a work are of a height suited to their breadth, of a breadth suited to their length and, in a word, when they all correspond symmetrically. 4. Symmetry is a proper agreement between the members of the work itself, and relation between the different parts and the whole general scheme, in accordance with a certain part selected as standard... 5. Propriety is that perfection of style which comes when a work is authoritatively constructed on approved principles. It arises from prescription, from usage or from nature. From prescription, in the case of hypaethral edifices, open to the sky, in honour of Jupiter Lightning, the Heaven, the Sun, or the Moon: for these are gods whose semblances and manifestations we behold before our very eyes in the sky when it is cloudless and bright. The temples of Minerva, Mars, and Hercules, will be Doric, since the virile strength of these gods makes daintiness entirely inappropriate to their houses. In temples to Venus, Flora, Proserpine, Spring-Water, and the Nymphs, the Corinthian order will be found to have peculiar significance. Jim Souness in Argyll in the 1980s: no one among his colleagues was as physically hands-on in practical conservation.
C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 7 ‘THE BULK of the housing market, especially for first-time buyers, has nothing to do with [Osborne’s] favourite mortgage-aided greenfield estates. It is the renovation and conversion of existing urban properties. Yet he relieves new building of all VAT and imposes a discriminatory 20 per cent on all renovation and urban renewal. This is a straight tax on the most efficient form of new housing.’ Simon Jenkins writing in the Guardian about chancellor George Osborne. ‘THIS IS A significant ruling; it reaffirms the importance of applying planning policy thoroughly in Northern Ireland’s conservation areas, recognising their contribution to the built environment and defending their unique character.Without good planning policies and their proper application and enforcement the heritage streetscape that gives Northern Ireland its unique character will be diminished by design that has neither a cultural or historic relationship with its locality.’ The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society welcoming the success of a High Court Judicial Review which has saved Swanston’s warehouse, an unlisted historic building in Belfast City Centre’s conservation area, from demolition. ‘I RECOGNISE, and the government recognise, that national parks and AONBs are so called for a reason and have a special status. It is a status we must respect, and it is important that we think hard and listen to the arguments put to us about the appropriateness of this measure in those areas.’ Planning minister Nick Boles reassuring MPs that the government is aware of the arguments being put forward to exempt national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty from proposals to introduce permitted development rights for redundant agricultural buildings. ‘WE ARE committed to renewable energy but it has to work in the landscape. The trust aims to source 50 per cent of its energy from renewables, including wind, by 2020, but this shouldn’t be at any cost. Our core purpose as a conservation charity means we have a duty to protect beautiful places like Lyveden, and each wind proposal should be of a scale and location that works with the special qualities of its setting.’ National Trust director general Helen Ghosh commenting on the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the High Court ruling that quashed a planning inspector’s approval of a wind farm close to the National Trust property, Lyveden New Bield. ‘LOOK UP, look around, there’s a building falling down.Well, not really falling down, more knocked down and ripped apart from the inside out – with its skin torn off. All that scaffolding and netting that seems to go up overnight looks innocent enough but some nasty and brutal things are going on behind it. ‘Like a sheet that obscures a particularly bloody surgical procedure, scaffolding hides the gruesome operation of deconstructing buildings; in most cases, however, these patients have little or no chance of survival… ‘Gone are ledges and recessed entryways, light and shadow, window boxes of flowers and places to perch and rest weary bones. Most importantly, gone is variety and punctuation. Instead, we’re left with razor-sharp walls devoid of personality, sharp breaks between pavement and forbidding curtains of glass – and no sense of transition between inside and out.’ Journalist and magazine publisher Tyler Brûlé writing in the Financial Times. ‘NOT ONLY would the demolition of such a recent building be a tragic waste of energy and resources, but this supermarket is outstandingly important. It is the most innovative retail store to have been built in the UK in the last 50 years. ‘To date no other supermarket buildings have even been assessed for their architectural or historical interest – and yet they are an incredibly important. Practically everyone has been to a supermarket at one point or another. This one is the best and most obvious candidate for listing.’ Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft calling for the first eco-designed supermarket to be listed at Grade II*.The Sainsbury’s on the Greenwich peninsula, south east London, which opened in 1999, is threatened with redevelopment. Welcome to new members The following members were voted in at the April 2014 council meeting.Welcome to you all. Full members Amy Davidson (LO) Rebecca Burrows (EM) Joanna Burton (EA) Laura Levitt (EA) LaurenWay (LO) Affiliates Marsaili Aspinall (SC) Chris Bodey (EM) Robert Buckley (LO) Adrian Curran (NI) Julia Garnaut (OV) Rebecca Kerr (SC) Donna Laing (SC) Wallace Loo (OV) David Mahony (WM) Katherine McClean (NI) Judith Mosley (OV) Lucy O’Connor (SC) Neal O’Leary (WA) Paul O’Loughlin (LO) Heloise Palin (LO) Emma Penny (YO) Ray Rice (RI) Christina Stuart (LO) EmmaWells (YO) JustinWebber (EA) Michael Wright (LO) MikeWye (SW)
8 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 Periodically As mentioned in my last column, print versions of the Journal of Architectural Conservation continue to be appear later than usual as a consequence of the move to Routledge.The most recent issue (Vol 19, No 3, November 2013) contains a number of interesting papers on both policy and practice in the UK and overseas. The longest is by Cassandra Crawford, who has examined the 19 Romanesque narrative friezes at Lincoln Cathedral. These panels originally beautified the austere pre-existing 11th century façade. Their colouring had symbolic value and was essential to communicate the religious messages from the Gospels. Nine panels explain OldTestament parables, primarily relating to Noah, while 10 panels relate to the tormenting of souls consequent on the vices of lust, avarice and so on. The author considers that the relationship of colour to each frieze’s physical and spiritual relationship with the cathedral has been largely overlooked. Consequently she believes that the panels have been the subject of scholarly misinterpretation and are currently inappropriately displayed. Much of the article is devoted to the paint analysis and the colour relationship of the frieze to its location on the facade and to the cathedral as a whole. A paper by Mathew Lloyd and Mikael Schilling gives a fascinating account of recent works to improve environmental conditions in the Great Room at the Grade I listed Royal Society of Arts building in London.The RSA, designed by Robert Adam in 1774, is the earliest complete example in English architecture of a purpose-built headquarters for a learned society.The authors clearly and succinctly describe the historical development of the building before explaining the objectives of the RSA’s 2011-12 restoration; the challenges of inserting 21st-century technology into 18th- century spaces; and the approach to lighting, finishes and decoration. Use of the latest technology is often expensive. A useful paper by three authors at the University of Navarra, Spain, explains how novel low-cost photogrammetric methods have been used to obtain geometric data applied to 20 arches of 11 historic masonry bridges prior to undertaking structural analysis. The technology is considered to be an economic and effective alternative to the classical approach of using planimetric methods. The fourth paper looks at a typological analysis of Muslim tombs in the Crimean peninsula. As the structures are Ottoman, funding for the survey work was provided by the Turkish government. It is to be hoped that the Journal of Architectural Conservation paper does not prove to be a cultural epitaph to recent political and ethnic upheaval. One of the intentions of author Gulsen Disli, from the University of Minnesota, was to use these tombs to draw attention to the need for conservation and the promotion of cultural diversity. The final paper, by Enrico Fodde and Loise Cooke of the University of Bath, examines the question of consolidation of mud-brick masonry, with particular reference to the United Arab Emirates. Until recently, little attention has been given to issues of conservation there, leading in many cases to abandonment. The authors illustrate the types of vernacular historic earthen fabric, the types of damage that can occur and methods of structural consolidation. A late 19th-century mosque acts as an exemplar of the appropriate techniques of repair. The latest issue of the Institution of Civil Engineers Proceedings on Engineering History and Heritage (Vol 167, issue EH1, February 2014) might be considered topical in the light of severe winter flooding. CL Greenwood discusses the preservation of canals through innovative spot-dredging, where a balance has to be struck between the maintenance of navigation; ecology; and improved water quality.The three types of dredging technique are defined, the methods of surveying canals described, and some case examples provided to demonstrate why spot-dredging, where the water depth is usually less than 800mm, is more cost effective and can better safeguard heritage assets. In a complementary article, Mike Clarke provides a well-illustrated history and methodology for the replacement of canal lock gates.Wooden gates require routine replacement after around 30 years. In the 1960s in England there was a move towards standardisation of gates to make construction or replacement simpler and easier.Today there is a greater emphasis on enhancing the special individual character of each
C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 9 canal to encourage greater use, but reinstatement of historic gate designs is sometimes considered unsuitable for locks that have statutory protection. Information about original designs and subsequent alterations therefore becomes significant when deciding what type of replacement gates should be used.The author explains the reasons for replacing modern lock gates with those of a traditional design. A very dramatic set of photographs accompanies the article by Jeremy Foster concerning the rebuilding of the clock tower atWoolwich Arsenal. With the 90 per cent of the overall site development complete, a large earth-moving digger almost completely destroyed the Grade II listed 1803 clock tower.The article is informative about the rigorous investigation, adherence to traditional detailing and careful minimal intervention to recover the situation after the cupola had fallen into the building, badly damaging the walls. Foster sets the repairs in the context of current conservation principles. As such a dramatic and successful recovery and reinstatement is not often clearly documented, this article is well worth reading. On a more historical note, Nicholas Bill provides the first comprehensive review of the safety record of the thousands of British timber railway bridges built in the 30 years from 1840. Having evaluated accidents associated with these bridges, the author notes that, despite problems with decay, they proved considerably safer than those built of cast-iron. Of the thousands completed in the UK, none failed while in use. The final article highlights the career of ‘supreme’ resident engineer Frederick Cooper (1841-1933). He is a man much less well known than his major projects: the London Underground Circle and Central Lines and the Firth of Forth Railway Bridge. The latest ASCHBTransactions (Vol 36, 2013 [sic]) commences with some reflections by Richard Harris on the conservation of theWeald and Downland Museum at Singleton,West Sussex. First, Harris provides a European context for the development of open air museums and shows what a relatively late developer theWeald and Downland was by comparison with, for example, Scandinavia. He provides a philosophical and practical context for the difficult issue of moving buildings in the path of development (most notably the HS1 London-to-Channel-Tunnel route). This will inevitably resonate with the opponents of the proposed HS2 facing similar issues in the near future.The author demonstrates how dismantling and re-erecting buildings helped to refine repair techniques for timberframed buildings re-erected at Singleton, and how this informed the training programmes being undertaken there. IHBC member Edmund Bird, transactions volume 36 for 2013 ASSOCIATION FOR STUDIES IN THE CONSERVATION OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS Birmingham Institute of Art and Design For further details visit bcu.ac.uk/conservation-ma or contact christian.frost@bcu.ac.uk / 0121 331 5595. MA Conservation of the Historic Environment Flexible part-time postgraduate study with September 2014 start. •Obtain key skills in conservation with practical skills-based workshops and lectures. •Study flexible, part-time two days per month (with Saturday provision). •Recognised by the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), and contributes towards becoming a Member of the Architects Accredited in Building Conservation (AABC). C M Y CM MY CY CMY K BCU Historic_Environment Advert AW.pdf 1 09/05/2014 13:17
10 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 heritage advisor to the Greater London Authority, examines the saga of three inter-war market hall arcades in Brixton, rejected for listing in 2008 as being of insufficient significance. The process was reversed initially in two of the cases after an intensive campaign by the local community, councillors and MPs. Following further protests about all three, all of them were listed Grade II in 2010 because of their cultural significance, representing perhaps the most widely known manifestation of the West Indian community in England. The case may have interesting implications for interpretation of significance and perhaps for future designation initiatives under the National Heritage Protection Plan. Other valuable articles in Transactions include a clear, incisive explanation by Jill Channer of how to recognise and record historic plain glazing, and why it is as important as concerns about the framing that contains it; the wisdom of hindsight with which Alastair Glass identifies the problems and issue that have occurred since the major repairs were undertaken to the Albert Memorial in 1998 (Glass explains the particular challenges for the memorial’s continued inspection and maintenance); a short overview of the current priorities of the Churches Conservation Trust by Sarah Robinson, Peter Aires and Neil Rushton; and an explanation of the management of change at Old Sarum Airfield, near Salisbury (this first world war training site, now partly in other uses, needed a conservation management plan). Cornwall is the theme of the latest issue of TheVictorian (No 45, March 2014), timed to coincide with the revision to the Cornwall edition of Pevsner. It seems astonishing that the first edition was published 60 years ago. Peter Beecham, formerly much concerned with heritage protection reform at English Heritage, and author of the revision, identifies some of the highlights of the new volume. One notable building type at risk in Cornwall is Methodist and nonconformist chapels. Like South Yorkshire and SouthWales, the county is a stronghold of non-conformism. Uncertainty about the chapels’ future has prompted English Heritage and Cornwall County Council to help in the assessment of significance, as explained by Jeremy Lake and Francis Kelly. Currently only one-third of the chapels remain in use for worship. The remainder are either vacant (10.3 per cent), residential (35 per cent) or (the rest) in a wide range of commercial and community uses. The Victorian Society, which extends its remit to the Edwardian era, ending in 1914, marks the commemoration of the cataclysm of the first world war with a review of books and exhibitions about architecture related to or affected by the war. This year also marks the century span of the remit of the Twentieth Century Society. In the current issue (No 1, 2014) of C20, the director explains that it is intended to mark this with a ‘100 Buildings’ project. One building year will be selected to illustrate how diverse and fascinating 20th-century buildings can be. This is not a competition to find the best buildings or identify the top architects, but a celebration of talent and achievement since 1914. A book of the final 100 will follow. If you think you know what ‘black granite’ is you should read Natural Stone Specialist (March 2014). Geologist Barry Hunt explains at length why there is no such thing, even though it is promoted as such in the stone industry and seems to describe most kitchen worktops. In his director’s notes in the latest SPAB Magazine (Spring 2014), Matthew Slocombe points out that one of the consequences of a declining number of local authority conservation officers is the greater need for police involvement in addressing heritage crime. He comments that perhaps the hardest issue for the police to tackle is crimes committed by owners against their own listed buildings. He notes that the rise of heritage crime is clearly reflected in disturbing statistics in Heritage Counts 2013. The magazine was one of the few in the sector, reviewed here, to comment on the overall balance and general conclusions about the proposed dismemberment of English Heritage, such was the deadline for the submissions. Such concerns have been amplified by the lack of adequate information in the DCMS consultation. There is an eclecticism in the selection of subjects in the issue. They include various methods of external decoration recently trialled by English Heritage at Kenwood House; the paint analysis conducted in the interior of the SPAB headquarters at Spital Square, prior to the recent extensive repairs and redecoration; concerns about one of the most at-risk elements of Berlin’s cultural and technical heritage, its extensive network of gas lamps, and the campaign to retain them; and, perhaps inevitably and topically, the great loss of building craftspeople who died fighting in the first world war. Bob Kindred MBE
C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 11 ARCHITECTS, HERITAGE CONSULTANTS AND CONSERVATION EXPERTS Over 65 years’ experience 16 studios across the UK and Asia Pacific Purcell.Thoughtfully designed evolution. www.purcelluk.com @Purcelluk Glass for period windows The London Crown Glass Company specialises in providing authentic glass for the windows of period buildings. This glass, handblown using the traditional techniques of the glass blowers, is specified by The National Trust, the Crown Estates and indeed many others involved in the conservation of Britain’s heritage. Specify authentic period glass for your restoration projects. THE LONDON CROWN GLASS COMPANY 21 Harpsden Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 1EE Tel 01491 413227 Fax 01491 413228 londoncrownglass@gmail.com www.londoncrownglass.co.uk Managing change in the historic environment Contact: Roger Mascall roger.mascall@turley.co.uk 020 7851 4010 turley.co.uk contact John Ruddy CEng MICE MIStructE CAREConservation Accredited Engineer 01298 83151 www.capstone-uk.com Home Farm Hollinsclough Buxton Derbyshire SK17 0RH New Bronze Narthex to Ripon Cathedral Assessment and Repair of Iron Structures Friendly practice offering professional ‘Conservation Engineering’ approach with surveys, repairs, alterations and additions to historic buildings across the Midlands, the North of England and Wales. Conservation of Historic Houses and Estates Recent work includes assisting Local Authorities with: Grade I, II* and II Listed Buildings Ecclesiastical Buildings Larger Projects and Domestic Work Historic Garden Structures
12 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 Our strange relationship with timber Originally timber was building. In Old English, the word timber meant a building; the process of building; or building material generally. Fair enough: in pre-Conquest England construction was generally in timber, apart from important churches and royal residences. After a while, though, people started using other materials and were annoyed when an order from the builder’s merchants for timber led to a delivery of stone. So it made sense to use terms more precisely. Now timber means wood and we all know where we are. We have a strange relationship with what was for centuries our principal building material. Buildings that were too obviously timber-framed looked old fashioned by the 18th-century, so anyone who could afford it would face their Tudor mansion with stone, brick or plaster. Later the Victorians made being old fashioned fashionable. Medieval timber frames that had long been decorously hidden under plaster were stripped bare, and painted black and white. Cities and towns like Chester and Rye suddenly looked like the timber-framed places they had been built as. Since then, Tudorbethan has become a favourite national style, the timber being structural, nailed on or painted. Today, though, when houses are built with timber frames, as many are, the habit is to disguise the fact beneath brick, or perhaps flint. By contrast developers are convinced that some timber facing on a facade will make the planners significantly more likely to give the building planning permission. Within a decade or two thousands of square metres of this ill-chosen, poorly detailed and badly maintained timber cladding will have fallen off. Timber in historic buildings will succumb to dry rot, wet rot or wood-boring insects. Many of the timber-framed buildings in towns were destroyed by fire. But the historic timber builders knew their timber and how to build with it. Oak, the most common building timber in medieval England, will last for many centuries. It is more durable than most types of English stone. This issue of Context focuses on timber conservation and repair. Robert Demaus (page 13) looks at methods of repair – many of them themselves historic – that retain as much historic fabric as possible. Brian Ridout (page 17) has some surprising things to say about ventilation. Toby Murphy and Iain McCaig (page 19) describe repairs to the awe-inspiring 15th-century barn that John Betjeman called the Cathedral of Middlesex. David McClimond (page 24) gives a joiner’s perspective on repairs to Mount Stewart, County Down. Rebecca Milford (page 27) reports on the refurbishment of a house in North Somerset with an intact medieval hall and solar roof structures. Matthew Price (page 29) tells the story of what he found about a small timber building in Fife that he has since had listed. Nathalie Sorensen (page 32) and her Canadian family moved and reassembled a timber kit house that had previously been moved and reassembled in around 1778. Darren McLean (page 35) has some advice on how to repair wooden windows. Richard Harris, Wen-Shao Chang, Peter Walker and Jon Shanks have conducted research into traditional timber joints that will help structural engineers make better predictions of the behaviour of traditional frames (page 39). Finally Ian Weir (page 44) writes about what happened when potentially disastrous damage was discovered to timbers in the roof of the Victorian gothic Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire.
C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 13 ROBERT DEMAUS Timber conservation and repair Genuinely traditional repairs (which generally fit the principle of ‘repair by addition’ rather than ‘repair by replacement’) often result in retaining more of a building’s historic fabric. Timber is probably the oldest, and certainly the most ubiquitous, building material. In the Elizabethan timber-framed manor house, its use is plain to see, but the Georgian brick terrace and medieval stone cathedral also contain significant amounts of structural and decorative timber. Almost every building of historic significance will contain some structurally significant timber. The main enemies of historic timber within the built environment are water, humans and, very occasionally, fire. If kept reasonably dry, timber will last indefinitely. Only when it is allowed to remain damp for a considerable time, usually due to lack of maintenance and/or the use of unsuitable materials, does it become vulnerable to degradation. Perhaps inevitably, the depredations of human activity and the (often consequent) degradation by fungi and beetles result in the need for repairs. It was ever thus, but over the last century we have become increasingly conscious of the need to conserve what we see as our cultural and material heritage. In theory the way in which we now repair our buildings should put greater emphasis on the retention and conservation of the existing historic fabric, rather than its replacement with new material. To this end, a series of guiding principles identifying best practice has evolved. In the context of timber repairs these are: 1. Any repair should be the minimum necessary to These wrought-iron straps and bolts are probably early 17th-century (and therefore historically important in their own right) repairs to an ornate late 14th-century church roof.The metal has not been painted or galvanised (and is not stainless steel) but it has survived happily (and over time toned down very well) for 400 years.Very little of the important carved work has been lost in the process. return the structure to a state in which it is fit for purpose, and in which the risk of further degradation is minimised. 2. As much as possible of the original or surviving timber should be retained, and repairs should be designed to achieve this. 3. Intervention into, and disturbance of, the surrounding fabric of the structure should be kept to the absolute minimum necessary to achieve a satisfactory repair. 4. The repairs carried out should if possible be reversible and, at the very least, should not hinder subsequent repairs should they prove necessary. 5. Where possible, the reason for the intervention should remain apparent after the repair is completed. Although rarely discussed in charters and guidance, costs must be taken into consideration. Repairs need to be economic and proportional to the historic significance, not just of the building, but of the specific element. In an ideal world, decisions about the most conservative and appropriate way to repair a building should not be influenced by issues of cost. However, in almost every project there is a finite sum that can be spent, and there is often a compromise to be achieved, where costs saved in one area of work can be directed to other areas, where expenditure may prove more beneficial overall. To ignore the financial implications of different approaches to repair, or to pretend that they are not an important factor in the
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