56 C O N T E X T 1 3 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 more specific, being a potted history of each of the main world faiths and the development of their places of worship. The broad-brush treatment may irritate some, but I found it convincing. Most of the readers of this journal will be familiar with the European developments featured here, but if we go further afield, it is normally on a kind of crash course, a brief tour when we look closely at one or two examples in a particular region. The account in this book helps us step back to understand the place of individual examples in a wider architectural and religious context. The illustrations with their carefully written captions are a major element in the narrative, backing up the general topics with specific and engaging examples. There are also doublepage spreads devoted to an individual building or complex, or an element of a building, such as an altarpiece, chapel, or processional way, with details picked out and explained by numbered keys. The subjects are carefully chosen to balance familiar and unfamiliar: new to me was a Byzantine mosaic of a Jewish subject (at the synagogue of Beth Alpha, Israel), and the Acropolis at Athens is ingeniously shown not simply as an architectural ensemble but as the site of the Pan-Athenaic procession. Anyone who has felt moved or inspired by a sacred building while being ignorant of the ideas behind it can not fail to gain from reading this beautifully designed book. Julian Treuherz, art historian and curator Glorious variation Practical Building Conservation: roofing English Heritage, Ashgate, 2013, hardback, 669 pages, profusely illustrated, ISBN 978 0 754645 56 6, £65 This book is one of 10 volumes in the new Practical Building Conservation series, a long-awaited successor to the original five volumes of technical guidance by John and Nicola Ashurst published in 1988. It differs significantly from the other volumes in the series by concentrating on just one element of a building’s construction, arguably the most critical, as a sound roof is essential to its long-term survival. This book examines all the principal materials used to cover historic roofs and their various methods of attachment, but excludes the underlying structures supporting them, such as rafters and trusses, which are discussed in other volumes. Extremely well illustrated, with excellent photographs, it reveals the full extent of England’s historic roofing in all its glorious variation and complexity. The book is clearly not intended to be a roofer’s handbook, but it does give very useful guidance into the subject for practitioners, architects, conservationists and researchers. Somewhat surprisingly roofing is a subject that was largely omitted in the original series, with chapters on the repair and maintenance of copper and lead roofs but nothing on slate, tile, thatch or shingle. As the editors point out in their introduction to this volume, there is a paucity of published literature on historic roofing, so this new guidance is particularly welcome. With over 650 pages, the majority of them bearing colour illustrations, the book might resemble something for the coffee table. Don’t be deceived, it is a great deal more than that. The opening pages state that ‘this book is about problem-solving’ and that is how the subject is addressed. The volume is divided into two parts. A general introduction covers the history of roofing, how roofs work, deterioration, assessment, repair and maintenance, and modern roofing practices. This is followed by the main section on individual types of historic roof covering. There is a very thorough account of each roofing material, including stainless steel, concrete and fibre-cement products used in the 20th century. The longevity of different materials, the quality of roofing designs, underlying causes of decay and methods of repair are all examined in detail. A particularly interesting final chapter describes the historic development of nail manufacture and how this can be used to indicate the age of a roof construction. For further information each chapter includes a list of references, while the appendices contain a detailed template for recording a roof and a comprehensive glossary. There is little to criticise. In some places there is a tendency for information to be repeated, principally where captions for illustrations give the same facts as in the main text. This can be acceptable when an illustration is on a separate page to the description but seems unnecessary when both are on the same page. The chapter on thatch clearly highlights the continuing threats to this type of roof, but it would be useful to know how the total of 50,000 or so surviving examples is divided between long straw, combed wheat and water reed. Some illustrations could have been included of the three varieties together, in order to help with identification of their differences. Overall, however, this is a most informative book, very well researched and providing excellent guidance on the subject. DavidViner is a heritage adviser with the Canal and River Trust. Collyweston slates being re-laid to form a laced valley at Apethorpe Hall, Northamptonshire, from Practical Building Conservation: Roofing. Photo by ChrisWood, ©English Heritage. The slate roofs ofVictorian terraced housing in London
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=