58 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 matting on the walls of the tack room interior at Attingham and an explanation of its purpose is just one example of how this book captures the essence of why farm buildings look as they do and why some traditional characteristics are now very scarce. Ryan discusses conservation and planning issues and voices some concern about how the National Planning Policy Framework might affect the future protection of historic rural buildings. There are helpful chapters on professional input, budgeting, contracts and project management. There is a chapter on building regulations and energy efficiency. Although design is discussed throughout the book, it is in the penultimate chapter that the main guidance is to be found about how to convert to new uses without losing the ability to interpret the original use. The book is primarily focused on England and refers particularly to Dorset and Shropshire, where the author has done much work. Other parts of the country are less thoroughly referenced, although different regional names for specific buildings are noted and, looking further afield, there is an interesting claim made that ‘what distinguishes English farming history from the rest of Europe is the single-function building’. There is a wealth of illustrations in both colour and black and white, but in printing some of the older ones are dark or blemished and can be difficult to interpret. It would have been helpful to have had figure numbers and a glossary of farm building terms, but there is a comprehensive index. The work of many other organisations is discussed, with particular reference to English Heritage. The National Trust is referenced but not its pioneering vernacular buildings survey, which is a key tool in its protection of farm and rural buildings, many of which, as indicated, are adapted to ancillary uses. Throughout, the author mourns the total loss of specific buildings or the ill-conceived loss of character through conversion and extension. Some of this is put down to building control and there is a plea for more pragmatism in how the regulations are interpreted. Other criticism is saved for ‘newcomers from city-life’, such as those who demolished a barn because it blocked the view from the farmhouse they had bought. The example of the traditional cowhouse interiors is cited. These are no longer acceptable in terms of animal welfare, yet the scarce examples that remain should be protected. The author rightly writes that ‘to remove [them] would be tantamount to removing a valuable slice of history’. The reader perhaps gets the feeling that it is easier to come across examples of bad design than it is to find good examples of converted farm buildings. With one or two examples the author explains how changes can be so great that it is not possible to tell if a building is a conversion or a rebuild. However, four good-practice case studies are cited and overall this book captures that ‘valuable slice of history’ very well. Edward Holland, senior projects adviser, Prince’s Regeneration Trust Places we value Managing Cultural Landscapes Edited by Ken Taylor and Jane L Lennon, Routledge, 2012, 364pp, 60 black-andwhite illustrations, ISBN 978 0 415672 24 5 (hbk) £85 ISBN 978 0 415672 24 2 (pbk) £28.99 ISBN 978 0 203128 19 0 (ebk) £28.99 In 1992 the World Heritage Convention became the first international legal instrument to recognise and protect cultural landscapes. It went on to create guidelines for their inclusion in the World Heritage List. Cultural landscapes were categorised in three types: ‘clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man; organically evolved landscape’ (‘relict’ or ‘continuing’), and ‘associative cultural landscape’. Managing Cultural Landscapes is written by committed people who, since 1992, have refined those guidelines or would like amendments to include cultural landscapes in different parts of the world (particularly in the AsiaPacific region) that they believe are of universal value and should be managed in a meaningful way. They want to promote recognition for the value of landscapes associated with ‘design gardens, spectacular natural settings, agriculture/forestry/fishery, human faith/religion, indigenous groups, historic urban landscapes and industrial/modern period landscapes’. It is one of a series of seven books. The credentials of the contributors are impeccable. All are either well-known academics or leading practitioners in their field. Although the text is peppered with academic references, this adds richness to what is a highly readable and accessible book. The authors’ aim is to ‘provide a critical text for academics, students, practitioners and informed organisations’. They want to get away from the concept of heritage concentrating on individual ‘historic buildings and monuments ignoring the landscapes that unite these structures with people’s narratives and the knowledge system that created them’. The case studies are of diverse, living, breathing landscapes, lived in and managed by ordinary people ‘inextricably tied to the notions of living history where landscape itself is a rich social history record’. Managing Cultural Landscapes is an international book with a global perspective. As the co-editors are based in Australia, the divergent western and
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