Institute of Historic Building Conservation No 141 September 2015 IHBC Annual School in Norwich Cultural connections: conserving the diversity of place
C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 1 Cover: Annual school delegates on tour at George Skipper’s Royal Arcade in Norwich (see page 14) Photo: Jonathan Taylor 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 David McDonald, president@ihbc.org.uk Chair Mike Brown, chair@ihbc.org.uk Vice Chair Kathryn Davies, vchair@ihbc.org.uk Secretary Jo Evans, 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 LETS Officer Kate Kendall, lets@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 vacant 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 Sheila Stones, 01223 582716 Scotland Jane Jackson, 0775 527314 Wales John Edwards, 07796 440934 Northern Ireland Jill Kerry, 028 9048 7395 Republic of Ireland Cormac O’Sullivan, 00353 5677 62907 Institute ofHistoricBuildingConservation No 141 September 2015 IHBC Annual School in Norwich Cultural connections: conserving the diversity of place 2 Briefing 4 Out of Context 5 Legal briefing 7 Periodically IHBC ANNUAL SCHOOL 2015 REPORT 11 Cultural connections: conserving the diversity of place Thursday tours 12 Streetscape design and traffic management Tim Hunter 12 Religious reverence Claire Gayle 13 Non-conformist Norwich Rowenna Wood 14 Eclecticism and originality Chris Young 16 Medieval merchants Beryl Lott 18 Norman nobility Lauren Ayers 19 Norwich City Hall Nicole Twort Friday day school 21 The Norwich Day School: an overview David Andrews 22 Keynote address Charmain Hawkins 24 Cultural significance Lorraine Brown 24 Recognising community connections Elizabeth Blood 25 Jewish heritage Rachael Parry 26 Culture and significance Barbara Hornbrook 27 Change in communities 27 Sharing training Peter Aiers 28 Tales of an architect Phil Godwin Saturday tours 30 Norwich’s forgotten asset Christian Brady 31 Norfolk and the Brecks Boyd Nicholas 32 The Merchants of Lynn Adam Swan 33 Rosary Cemetery Holly Sharpley 34 Modernism at the University of East Anglia Lucy Carayon 36 A sponsored place Nadia Knifton 39 Traditional dwellings of Dajun Sun Peifang 42 An island on the edge Matthew Crook 45 Why building conservation needs BS 7913 John Edwards 47 Architecturally speaking 50 Notes from the chair 52 Director’s cut 53 New president for IHBC 54 Vox pop 55 New member profile 55 Welcome to new members 56 Book reviews 58 Products and services 60 Advertisers index
2 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 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) Elizabeth Smith Michael Taylor Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2015 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 Copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November. The next four copy deadlines are: March, issue 143 15 January May, issue 144 11 March July, issue 145 13 May September, issue 146 15 July Awards for Combermere Abbey Combermere Abbey has been awarded special commendations from the 2015 Historic England Angels Awards (for the north wing restoration) and 2015 Historic Houses Association/Sotheby’s Restoration Awards (for the restoration of the library). The library, originally the Abbot’s Lodge in the Abbey, has been restored over a period of 15 years in three phases, supported by a grant from Historic England and the Heritage Conservation Trust. Uninhabited since the early 1950s, the north wing had become structurally unstable, with collapsed roof, walls and interiors, and it was seriously endangering the rest of Combermere Abbey, which has been on the At Risk Register since 1993. Extensive repair work is being carried out, including stripping the building back to the original medieval and Tudor frame, removing the gothic cladding and existing roof structure, repairing or replacing the decayed areas, rebuilding the roof and chimneys, and reinstating the gothic exterior. Combermere Abbey is a privately owned Grade I listed building set in 1,000 acres of historic parkland on the Cheshire/Shropshire border. It began life as a Cistercian monastery in 1133, was dissolved under Henry VIII, rebuilt as a Tudor mansion and remodelled in the late 1820s in the then-popular gothic style. Crumbling spires A ‘Save our Spires’ appeal has been launched by the National Churches Trust (NCT) to highlight the plight of crumbling church spires around the UK An analysis by the NCT of Historic England’s latest Heritage At Risk Register shows that 40 listed parish churches require urgent repair work to their spires. Damage to parish church spires includes stone decay and deterioration; The restored library (originally the Abbot’s Lodge) at Combermere Abbey StVincent’s Church, Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, has been awarded a £40,000 grant by the National Churches Trust to help fund a project to re-roof the nave and undertake major repairs to the spire. (Photo: Gordon Plumb)
C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 3 rusting to iron cramps used in Victorian spires to hold masonry together; woodpecker damage to wooden spires; and high winds and heavy rain leading to weakened spires. Over the last three years, the National Churches Trust has helped fund repairs to 17 parish church spires in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Is the future of public services digital? Bob Kindred MBE writes: A wellattended seminar on ‘Digital Public Services: reshaping, rethinking and rewriting services’ was held in London in July. A series of speakers emphasised the government’s ambitious agenda for transforming service delivery in the digital era but said that this process still had a long way to go. The digital transformation is aimed at everybody in government with the aim of reducing costs and civil service numbers, but this will also affect local government providers, and the users of services including those in the heritage sector. All unprotected government departments will be cut by 15 per cent in the medium term, and NGOs and local government will face similar cuts of varying sizes. Running new (digital) services in a smaller public sector can not simply replace existing provision. These must run in parallel before the old ones are turned off and this will equate to greater costs in the short term. Seminar speakers attached great importance to the need for greater agility, the use of better project management skills and efforts to gain a better understanding of the services that customers need. Civil servants (and local government officers) may already be acting in an agile way but they are not necessarily interacting directly with customers. Consequently the delivery of services and project management is not fully effective. New digital projects for service delivery need prototypes before a full business case is submitted, making clear how complex the issues are and what the deadlines will be. The mantra for new ways of delivering services is if you are going to fail, fail fast. But those services also need to be related to and integrated with customers’ real-life experiences. There is a digital divide in the UK. Those who can not get online for services find life much more difficult. There are major problems for those who are not IT literate or have no access, such as the elderly and the four million people for whom English is their second language. Twenty per cent of the UK population has no digital access, and those who need it most may be least able to afford it. One speaker remarked that there was no point in saying that we wanted to be all digital by 2020: there needed to be a much better user experience now, understanding it and its faults, and working from there. Websites needed to be much more accessible, for example by screening to address problems of dyslexia. The world has plenty of good information services but they do not actually do anything specifically for individuals. New models of tailored services are emerging, such as Uber, which represents a safe and personalised service on both sides – with the supplier and the customer. In the NHS, for example, the same conversations take place over and over again with different groups, but only 25 per cent of advice is tailored to the needs of individuals. There may be some useful lessons for the needs of users of heritage services, where much of the present broad-brush approach could be replaced, for example by online interaction through Skype, with selfsupport by way of access to experts without direct face-to-face contact. In this way customer relationships should become personalised and related to individual transactions. Whatever the role of a smaller public sector in the provision of statutory services in the immediate future, it is clear that a better understanding of user needs, a better customer experience, and imaginative and agile provision of services through digital means will become essential. Annunciation at Bilborough Conservation work to two 20th-century wall paintings at the Church of St Martin of Tours at Bilborough, Nottinghamshire, has won the 2015 SPAB John Betjeman Award. The murals are the work of war artist Evelyn Gibbs (1905–1991). Completed in 1946, the paintings depict the Annunciation. They are positioned either side of the east window in the chancel, with Mary to the left and Gabriel to the right. The figures are pictured in the old village setting of Bilborough itself. The paintings, thought to be last surviving examples of monumental work carried out by Evelyn Gibbs, were lost during the construction of an extension in the 1970s. Although their possible survival beneath layers of emulsion was identified in 1990s, no work was undertaken until they were rediscovered in 2009 by workmen re-wiring the church. The project required the removal of a 1970s ceiling in the chancel. The annual award is made for outstanding repairs to the fabric of places of worship in England andWales, completed in the last 18 months. Repairs to the medieval choir stalls at St Mary, Nantwich, Cheshire have received a commendation. All things illegally modernised A property developer who illegally modernised a historic building in SouthWales has been ordered to pay a £60,000 fine and £240,000 costs, or serve a 20-month prison sentence. Grade II*-listed Llanwenarth House, built in the late 16th century, is where the Irish composer Cecil Alexander is said to have written the lyrics to the hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’. The unlawful alterations included stripping out numerous historic features, and replacing Regency features with mock-Tudor ones. Davies said in his defence that he had saved the house from ruin. Evelyn Gibbs’ Gabriel restored Medieval choir stalls at St Mary, Nantwich
4 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 ‘THE CURRENT proposals for the refurbishment and upgrading of neighbouring No 1 Finsbury Avenue show that these buildings can be adapted and upgraded sympathetically without destroying their special architectural character. ‘We urge the building owners to follow their own example and treat No 2 Finsbury Avenue with the same considered approach. Demolition of such a recent high-quality building would be a needless waste of resources, and further chip away at the architectural integrity and uniformity of the wider Broadgate development.’ A spokesperson for the Twentieth Century Society telling the Architects’ Journal why it has opposed a move by British Land to seek immunity from listing for part of the 1980s Broadgate development. ‘PEOPLE fancy a heritage item in their garden so are more inclined to seek an illegitimate means of supply. Behind the scenes there is this second-hand market. I don’t know if they get stolen to order but somehow they end up in America and places like that.’ AndrewYoung, chairman of the Letter Box Study Group, joining Royal Mail and Historic England in calling for post boxes to be protected and preserved. ‘THE FACADES of precast concrete elements act as screens that negotiate between the private sphere of the individual flats and the collective space of the inner garden and beyond. The rhythmic composition of vertical fins and horizontal “streets-in-theair” articulates the Smithsons’ unique proposition of an architectural language that combines social values with modern technology and material expression. ‘Despite the current state of neglect and abuse, Robin Hood Gardens comprises a rare, majestic gesture, both radical and generous in its aspiration for an architecture of human association.’ Dirk van den Heuvel of Delft University quoted by Richard Rogers and Simon Smithson in support of their call for the listing of Robin Hood Gardens, the housing project designed by Alison and Peter Smithson. ‘WE ARE singularly failing the poor. A high household income gives you better access to beautiful surroundings. This inequality has a significant impact on health and wellbeing as well as the way people behave within communities. ‘Those who are surrounded by beauty are more likely to take care of it, become more involved in their communities. Uglier places see higher levels of antisocial behaviour, crime and more litter. We have to create a system by which we all have a Right to Beauty... ‘We demand that the word Beauty, and all that it magically means, are equitably woven through our planning system, our architecture and our built world.’ Caroline Julian of ResPublica calling for ‘a community right to beauty’. ‘I NEVER really understood why we had two organisations doing much the same thing. Now the combined memberships of all the County Gardens Trusts — all that knowledge and enthusiasm — can be merged with the specialist expertise and academic clout of the old Garden History Society to become much more effective not just in conservation but in actively campaigning to protect our designed landscapes.’ Dominic Cole, first president of the Gardens Trust, formed by a merger of the Garden History Society and the Association of Garden Trusts. ‘OUR POLICY brings some muchneeded sanity to the mega-basement mania and finds the proper balance between subterranean development and the right of the rest of the community to the peaceful enjoyment of their homes.’ Councillor Timothy Coleridge of the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea defending the council’s planning policy on basements.The policy had been challenged unsuccessfully in the High Court by property developer Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring, who had painted red and white stripes (which she has since been ordered to remove) on her townhouse in protest at her neighbours, who had objected to her plans. ‘PROUDLY read SPAB 1877 manifesto aloud to students in the beautiful medieval interior of Great Coxwell Barn today. Fab.’ Ayla Lepine on Twitter @heartchitecture ‘THIS IS a victory for local democracy – and for common sense. Ignoring its own officers’ advice and the opinion of Historic England, members of Tower Hamlets planning committee have rejected a scheme that is too big for its sensitive historic site and which would destroy far too much of the conservation area for which it is proposed. ‘No members of the planning committee supported the scheme and British Land should now listen to the people of Tower Hamlets – whose desire has been expressed through their elected councillors on the committee – and redesign a scheme that was condemned as too greedy and too destructive. ‘The Spitalfields Trust accepted British Land’s initial invitation to work with them to produce an acceptable scheme. But the trust found its observations, criticism and advice constantly ignored. It had no choice but to go into direct opposition and, in consequence, produced – with John Burrell – an alternative scheme for the site.’ Architectural historian and broadcaster Dan Cruickshank welcoming the decision of Tower Hamlets Council to reject plans to redevelop the Norton Folgate area.
C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 5 CAROLYN SHELBOURN Planning, permitted development and pubs The loss of pubs has reached what might be called epidemic proportions in recent years. Many have closed for economic reasons but pubs are also under threat of development. The demolition of the CarltonTavern pub in MaidaVale in April 2015 received considerable press attention.1 The pub (built 1920–21) was the only building on the street to have survived the Blitz and was being considered for listing by Historic England. The owners had been refused planning permission to demolish the pub, which was in a conservation area. The unauthorised demolition was followed by the unprecedented decision of the local planning authority (Westminster Council) to serve an enforcement notice requiring the rebuilding of the pub within 18 months.2 This case, however, simply reflects the tip of the iceberg. Many pubs have closed for economic reasons, but pubs are also under threat of development. Pubs and their car parks are suitable sites for residential conversion and development. In 2010 a report by CAMRA showed that between January and November 2012 over 200 pubs had been converted into supermarket convenience stores.3 While few of these pubs would have had sufficient merit for them to be listed, they nevertheless contributed to the character and appearance of the area, and in villages and small towns may often be prominent buildings on the high street. Until very recently, these changes were not subject to development control. If the pub was not listed or in a conservation area, consent was not required for demolition of the building, for alterations to the interior, or for changes to the exterior not materially affecting the external appearance of the building, as none of these constitute development under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The situation was made worse by changes made to the Use Classes Order 4 in 2005 which rendered a change from a drinking establishment (use class A4) to a restaurant (use class A3), office (use class A2) or shop (use class A1) permitted development. Recent changes to the law may now allow more control over pub development. Listing as an asset of community value Part 5 Chapter 3 of the Localism Act 2011, and the Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012, give local groups a right to nominate a building or other land for listing by the local authority as an asset of community value (ACV) if its principal use furthers the social well-being or social interests of the community. If the building meets the criteria for nomination, the local authority must list it as a community asset, and place the building on the local land charges register. One third of all listed ACVs are pubs. In 2015, 19 pubs in Otley were listed as the first mass listing of ACVs.5 Listing as an ACV has three advantages. First, it offers a chance for the community to buy the asset. If the owner wishes to dispose of it by selling it or granting a lease of at least 25 years, a moratorium period of six weeks is imposed, during which community interest groups can request to be treated as a potential bidder. If this is done, the owner may not sell or lease the property to any person other than the community interest group for six months.6 Second, listing as an ACV will result in limits being imposed on permitted development rights (PDR). In 2015 the Use Classes Order was amended to remove the PDR for change from Class A4 use to Class A1, A2 or A3 use where the pub is listed as a community asset.7 Third, the General Permitted Development Order was also amended in 2015 8 to require planning permission to be obtained for the demolition of a pub subject to ACV listing. It is ironic that the Carlton Tavern was demolished just two days after these changes to PDR came into effect. However, these limits apply only for a period of five years from the date of listing as an ACV, meaning that a pub that has been listed becomes vulnerable to development after this period expires.Although changes to PDR have been welcomed, this limitation means that there may still be a place for another legal mechanism, the Article 4 direction. Article 4 directions Article 4 of the General Permitted Development Order 9 empowers the local authority to make what are commonly called ‘Article 4 directions’, restricting PDR in relation to both operational development and change of use if it is satisfied that it is expedient to do so. As with ACV listing, the direction does not prevent development, but it does mean that planning permission is required for development that would otherwise fall within PDR. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has produced guidance for planners and conservation References 1 www.independent. co.uk/news/uk/ home-news/developerswho-destroyed-historiclondon-pub-withoutpermission-could-beordered-to-rebuild-brickby-brick-10212893.html 2At the time of writing both the refusal of planning permission and the enforcement notice are the subject of appeal by the developer 3 See House of Common Library Standard Note SN/SC/1301 (2014) Planning: Change of Use System 4 Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987/764, as amended 5 www.theguardian. com/uk-news/thenortherner/2015/may/10/ otleys-pubs-saved-fromlast-orders 6 Section 95, Localism Act 2011 7 See Part 3, UCO 2015 at www.legislation.gov. uk/uksi/2015/596/pdfs/ uksi_20150596_en.pdf 8 See Part 11, GPDO 2015, www.legislation.gov. uk/uksi/2015/596/pdfs/ uksi_20150596_en.pdf The Carlton Tavern, the only building on the street to have survived the Blitz, was being considered for listing by Historic England. (Photo: Ewan Munro, Flickr)
6 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 officers which may be helpful when a decision is being made as to whether a direction is appropriate and in making planning decisions.10 Article 4 directions are generally used to control permitted development rights in a particular area, especially conservation areas, but there is nothing to prevent them being made in relation to an individual building.11 A period for consultation is usual before making the direction, but they can be made with immediate effect.The National Planning Policy Framework provides that the use of Article 4 directions should be limited ‘to situations where this is necessary to protect local amenity or the wellbeing of the area’.12However, the NPPF does not give any further guidance on the meaning of this phrase, so there is potential scope for using them to save community amenity buildings such as pubs. Article 4 directions have been used, for example, in respect of the Thimblemill pub in Smethwick, the Maiden Over in Earley, theWheatsheaf inTooting, and the Pear Tree in Hildersham. Some local authorities have been wary of adopting Article 4 directions because they may be liable to pay compensation to the developer if planning permission is refused,13 but this threat should not be overstated. When considering the use of the Article 4 direction to protect theThimblemill, Sandwell MBC noted that no such claims had been brought after Article 4 directions had been made in Sandwell or the neighbouring area of Dudley. National research by the English Historic Towns Forum (RPS Planning, 2008) also showed that no claims for compensation had been made in the 72 planning authorities studied. Local listing and policies In addition, NPPF paragraph 70 encourages local authorities to ‘plan positively’ for the provision and use of shared space and community facilities (including public houses) ‘to enhance the sustainability of communities’ and to ‘guard against the unnecessary loss of valued facilities and services’. Local authorities should also therefore consider introducing local planning policies to protect pubs from changes of use. For example, in July 2014Wandsworth Council announced its intention to introduce new supplementary planning guidance to protect pubs. It may be useful to undertake a survey of pubs in a local authority area, as this may establish a specific local need for an Article 4 direction or protective local planning policies.When Cambridge City Council did so, it discovered that the city had the fewest number of pubs per capita of any in the country. This led the council to introduce interim planning guidance on the protection of pubs in 2012. Alternatively a pub of architectural or historic interest which does not meet the criteria for listing may be placed on the ‘local list’ of non-designated heritage assets of local importance. Local plan policies and non-statutory designations can strengthen the hand of the authority when planning applications are being determined, as they would both be material considerations to be taken into account. The local listing of the Thimblemill was also one of the justifications for the Article 4 direction introduced to protect it. None of these measures can be guaranteed to protect a pub from demolition by a determined developer, as the case of the CarltonTavern shows.Westminster Council is to be congratulated for taking firm enforcement action.Whether the pub is in a conservation area, listed as an ACV, or subject to an Article 4 direction, enforcement action will need to be sufficient to outweigh any potential profit from unauthorised development. 9 Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995/418, as amended 10 Historic pub interiors: advice for planners, available at www.camra.org.uk/ documents/10180/21554/ historic_pub_interiors_ advice_for_planners.pdf/ b47dcb4e-6a52-43bd9195-820cf45ee77a, accessed 21 January 2015 11 Department for Communities and Local Government, Replacement Appendix D to Department of the Environment Circular 9/95: General Development Consolidation Order 1995 (2012) paragraph 3 12 DCLG (2012) National Planning Policy Framework, paragraph 200 13 Section 108,TCPA 1990. See also DCLG, Replacement Appendix D to Department of the Environment Circular 9/95: General Development Consolidation Order 1995 (2012) Carolyn Shelbourn is a senior lecturer in the school of law at the University of Sheffield. The Chapel House in Heaton Chapel, Stockport which has since fallen victim to Tesco’s recent cull of underperforming stores (Photo: Peter Edwardson, closedpubs.blogspot.com)
C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 7 Periodically The arrival from the USA of the Association of Preservation Technology Bulletin is always eagerly anticipated here. The latest issue (Vol XLVI, No 1, 2015) has been the subject of a smart graphic redesign, the first in 24 years. The much greater use of colour does much to enhance the presentation and technical content. Readers may recall that several recent issues have been devoted to the exemplary conservation of cast and wrought iron, and iron and steel. The latest issue is an invaluable special issue on the conservation of modern metal finishes. It stems in part from the formation of the APT’s Technical Committee on Modern Heritage and particularly on the outcome of its 2013 workshop. Alan Pense begins with a discussion of some of the ways in which metals degrade in use. He restates some of the fundamental structures and properties of principally iron-based materials from a metallurgical perspective for those who might not have read about these in earlier editions of the Bulletin. The explanation in relation to types of degradation and the effects of corrosion at microstructural level are commendably clear. Xsusha Flandro and Helen Thomas-Haney provide an overview of the common finishes applied to architectural aluminum from the 1920s to the 1960s, and the associated conservation and maintenance issues. In the inter-war period aluminum was advertised as ‘defying the corrosive attacks of smoke and fumes’, but this was not necessarily the same as resistance to corrosion and did not obviate the need for maintenance. Without care of the protective finishes, the underlying material would fail. The authors explain that the challenge of restoring deteriorated aluminum finishes in situ (as many elements can not be restored off-site) requires some creative thinking. Historical information must be combined with accurate material analysis to develop appropriate conservation strategies. Nickel and aluminum alloys sometimes referred to as ‘nickel silver’ were popular for art deco architectural decoration in NewYork, particularly after the first world war. Richard Pieper discusses these often vaguely defined and popularly known term ‘white metals’, as applied to the unfinished surfaces. Although superficially similar, these could encompass nickel silver, Monel (an alloy mainly of nickel and copper), lead, stainless steel and aluminum. All of these have dramatically different properties and conservation concerns. Because of the exceptional durability of the ‘white metals’, methods for their refinishing and maintenance are not yet as standardised as those for iron, steel, zinc and copper alloys. However, the author is confident that new models for identification and treatment will emerge as the buildings using these metals age and more work is undertaken. The finishes, investigation and conservation considerations of metals used in historic buildings of the modern movement is covered in a very informative article by Jamie Clapper Morris and Deborah Slaton. The analytical techniques for identification and assessment are discussed in detail. There are four case studies of restoration approaches, including the painted steel used at the Eames House in California, and the stainless steel used on the Gateway Arch, St Louis, Missouri. The final article by Thomas Jester deals with aluminum finishes in post-war architecture. Architects intrigued by the opportunities and possibilities for expression of form and the wide range of finished offered by manufacturers triggered a tremendous growth in applications and technological advances in the 1950s. These uses have now reached the point where renewal is increasingly frequently required. Jester argues that a full understanding of the range and complexity of the material is needed. A return of the Bulletin’s valuable eight-page pullout Practice Points feature is also welcome. The preceding one had appeared as long ago as 2011. The latest (No 13) deals with data interpretation and early corrosion testing for historic concrete buildings. This edition of the Bulletin is well worth seeking out. The current annual Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society (Vol 59, 2015) carries the concluding part of the two-part examination by John McCann, Pat Ryan and Beth Davis of extant buildings devoted to deer hunting up
8 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 to 1642, the start of the Civil War (after which hunting practices changed). Part 1 dealt with structures such as standings for spectators and larger lodges for the nobility. Part 2 deals with different types of extant towers in deer parks, kennels, hides and miscellaneous buildings of the hunt, some of which are otherwise difficult to interpret. IHBC member Edward Holland discusses the exceptionally important and miraculously intact Middleport Pottery in Stoke on Trent, which the Prince’s Regeneration Trust acquired in 2011. Holland explains why the pottery is so significant; the recent process of conservation and adaptation of the building that has proceeded contemporaneously with a revival of pottery production; and the intentions for the long-term care of the historic collections. A short article by MP Port identifies a newly discovered work designed by the celebrated Victorian gothic architect William Butterfield. This places the commencement of his practice three years earlier than previously thought, demonstrating that he was an experienced architect in independent practice by 1838. There is much else of interest in these Transactions. Three articles deal with aspects of church conservation. Sandra Manley describes the recent major refurbishment of St James’s Priory, Bristol’s oldest building. Peter Howell explains the contentious scheme of decoration for the church of the London Oratory by Cesare Formilli, executed in 1927 but the subject of misunderstandings and legal proceedings that were settled only in 1939. Irene Brightmer describes and compares the painted ceilings at two private mid-17th century chapels at Gwydir Uchaf, Caernarfon, and Staunton Harold, Leicestershire. The print version of the Journal of Architectural Conservation has recently been published (although individual papers now appear more quickly online). The latest issue (Vol 21, No 1, March 2015) contains four diverse papers, all offering insights into policy and practice. Perhaps the paper with the greatest interest to UK practitioners is the one by Robin Dower. This deals with the consolidation and repair of a cruck-framed, heather-thatched, stone barn, work supported by English Heritage [sic]. This relative rarity from Northumberland, listed Grade II*, retains a significant amount of original heather thatch in its base coat and ridge, and all the primary timbers of its roof construction. The description of the repair techniques employed is invaluable as a demonstration of the need to develop and promote an understanding of traditional building skills and uncommon roofing materials. The drawings and photographs accompanying the paper are particularly instructive. The application and interpretation of the philosophy of repair can sometimes stimulate a wider debate. A paper by Stefano Francesco Musso and Givanna Franco poses some fascinating questions about the logic and significance of conservation works carried out to the Museum and Treasury of the Cathedral in Genoa, designed and built by Franco Albini in 1953–6. After 50 years problems have arisen with the fixtures, fittings and internal layout of this remarkable space, due to wear and tear, roof leakages and the very methods used in the presentation of the material. The conservation work in this instance threw up clashes and sometimes outright contradictions between notions of ‘origin’ and ‘originality’, ‘authenticity’ and ‘modern’ and ‘contemporary’. All these issues are of crucial importance in addressing the conservation management of modern architecture. This very thoughtprovoking paper is well worth a read. The appropriate approach to repair of modern buildings, the damage caused by roof leaks, and appropriate replacement and restoration techniques also arise in Mary Kay Judy’s paper on the upkeep required on Philip Johnson’s 1965 Paintings Gallery in New Canaan, Connecticut. The building on Johnson’s private compound has an earth berm roof and contains an exceptional collection of modern art. The National Register of Historic Places assumed responsibility for the site after Johnson’s death in 2005 and the site was opened to the public in 2007. By 2012 leaks to the roof were becoming increasingly frequent and a comprehensive repair solution was required. The precise nature of the problems, the methods of investigation and the resolution of the leaks in 2013 are explained in detail. The fourth paper describes the conservation of an important, but until recently almost completely unknown, fortified Orthodox wooden church complex in RaduŻ in south-east Poland. The site, which has recently been added to the world heritage list, now attracts tourists from around the world. This demonstrates that the conservation of remote historic churches can contribute greatly to the economy of vast, sparsely populated rural areas. The latest issue of the Institution of Civil Engineers Proceedings on Engineering History and Heritage (Vol 168, Issue EH2, May 2015) has the theme of bridge bearings. Traditional methods were superseded with the introduction of steel into bridge design about 150 years ago, but the accompanying revolution in the use of bolts, pivots and rollers has now been largely forgotten. It disappeared first from the specialist technical literature, then from design and construction standards, and finally from public perception altogether. This edition of the Proceedings attempts to address this, not least
C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 9 because some of these bridges are now heritage assets and because of an absence of reliable fundamental knowledge about how bearings function. Replacing old bearings with new ones may appear attractively simple, but in practice this often proves complicated and expensive. Two papers deal with (often hidden) hinges in historic concrete and masonry arches introduced towards the end of the 19th century, using German examples; why their introduction was innovatory; the driving forces behind their introduction; and how inappropriate repairs and maintenance can lead to failure. A further paper looks at the saddle bearings used by Thomas Telford for the Menai Suspension Bridge, commenced in 1819 and completed in 1826.William Day discusses Telford’s early design experiments, the function of his saddle bearings, how they performed and how subsequent investigation showed that they performed less well than Telford had intended. Later suspension bridges at Hammersmith over the Thames and Scotswood over the Tyne were found to have no need of bearings for the saddles because of the slenderness of the bridge towers above. One of the most prominent features in C20, the magazine of the Twentieth Century Society (No 2, 2015) is a detailed exploration by Mike Dring of Cedar Leys, Alveston, near Stratford on Avon. This fine but little-known house by Peter Womersley (1923–1993) was designed for local industrialist Alan Joseph. It was completed in 1964. Joseph lived in it for only four years. It then changed hands three times, during which the building’s basic structure remained intact, but significant and unsympathetic changes were made until 2011. At that date the present owners undertook a total refurbishment, removing layers of inappropriate materials and an inappropriate kitchen, and carefully replicating much of the decayed south-facing window joinery. The magazine also highlights the Architectural Review’s treasury of graphic front covers for the period 1943 to 1953. These featured in a small exhibition in London in 2014. Strikingly, these designs had little to do with the modern architecture with which the ARwas so closely associated, perhaps because of a postwar preoccupation with reconstruction planning. Fine covers by Barbara Jones, Kenneth Rowntree, John Piper and Gordon Cullen are shown as striking examples of magazine design. The magazine also looks at the fate of modern library buildings (the Victorian Society focused on 19th-century ones in its March issue). Ken Worple notes that libraries are still being built, despite cutbacks and technological change. Bernadette Bone looks at postwar provision in Lancashire, where libraries were always a priority from the 1850s onward, highlighting those built in the 1950s and 60s. In the July-August 2015 issue of Natural Stone Specialist, Barry Hunt continues his examination of great British stones with the geological and quarrying history, properties, distinctive grades and uses of Totternhoe clunch. As a form of chalk, this not one of Britain’s most durable building stones, but it is famously used at Woburn Abbey and can be found elsewhere on secular historic buildings, in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in particular. This stone has been quarried near Dunstable by HG Clarke and Son since 1920. The latest quarterly TM Theatres Magazine (Issue 44, Summer 2015) has a guide explaining why planning obligations are becoming an increasingly useful tool for securing new and improved theatre facilities through the use of Section 106 and the community infrastructure levy, and the difference between the two. The article sets out the lessons that can be learnt regarding the planning obligation process and, by way of example, how Theatre Peckham, a community theatre in Southwark, recently entered into an agreement for the construction of a new theatre on its site. Bob Kindred MBE
10 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 cpd@westdean.org.uk www.westdean.org.uk/college West Dean College, Chichester,West Sussex PO18 0QZ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIPLOMA Can be achieved through the successful completion of ten of our Building Conservation Masterclasses and the submission of a 3,000-word essay. Recognised by Historic England (formerly English Heritage) ‘‘Excellent tutors sharing their own work experience ” In Historic Building Conservation and Repair
C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 11 Cultural connections: conserving the diversity of place IHBC Annual School 2015 Images of ISIS deliberately destroying Syrian antiquities are shocking: the more so because they are an extreme version of what many IHBC members deal with every day. When in the UK we argue about the degree and type of value that a historic building might have, the discussion is mediated through policies, statutes, standards and professions. We understand the perspectives of the people we deal with. We appreciate, more or less, their motivations, their aesthetic preferences and their attitudes to history. We can imagine ourselves in their shoes. Most of us find it almost impossible to understand the minds of the young men we see assaulting ancient buildings in Syria with sledgehammers and explosives. For them the existence of something erected to the glory of the wrong god is a crime, and the brutal murder of anyone who seeks to protect such structures and artefacts is justified. So it is useful to be reminded that our own culture once held equally extreme attitudes. Jonathan Foyle, former chief executive at the World Monuments Fund Britain, told the Annual School (page 22) that Lincoln Cathedral, whose ‘biography’ he has recently written, ‘can be read on one level as a representation of cultural hatred and persecution’ against Jews. Yet, paradoxically, he said, ‘beautiful materials, crafts and design can render such unethical ideas into exquisite architecture that we all value for itself’. Interpreting and appreciating such a building, and helping others do so, can be harder than it might first appear. So it was good to hear Sharman Kadish, director of Jewish Heritage UK, introducing what she said was Britain’s first nonChristian, religious historic building preservation organisation (page 25), and Shahed Saleem outlining the British landscape of mosques (page 27). Many synagogues have become redundant, leading to closure, abandonment and demolition, Kadish said. Saleem spoke of the history of the mosque in Britain being uncharted, unrecorded and in danger of being lost completely. Some of Britain’s heritage is easy to appreciate and explain. Other examples, particularly those that relate to ways in which people, now and in the past, have been different to one another, are not. Facing up to diversity is the first step in tackling that conundrum. Thanks go to the organising committee: front (l-r)– Kate Knights, Heather Jermy, Amanda Rix; back – Paul Rhymes, Chris Bennett, David Edleston, Prue Smith, Fiona Newton (All annual school photos are by Jonathan Taylor, Cathedral Communications, unless otherwise credited.)
12 C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 Thursday, 18 June IHBC Annual School Thursday tours Streetscape design and traffic management Responding to this context requires a sensitive touch when it comes to street design, to reflect what is below as well as what is around. A prominent example of this is at St Benedict’s Gate, where not only is the footprint of the long-demolished gate marked out on the new street surface, but the cycle path has been carefully aligned so that it runs directly through the former gateway, once more giving expression to the formal boundary of the city. Distinctive bespoke street furniture plays an important role in enhancing the character of Norwich’s streets, through both standard elements and one-off spaces. Octagonal forms have been adopted as a city standard, from bollards, such as those in the Lanes district, to litter bins, giving a unified appearance while at the same time ensuring that street furniture can be robust and practical. More elaborate examples of street furniture can be seen at the Thomas Browne memorial, and on the Quayside by the River Wensum, where public sculpture has been cleverly designed to function as seating and bollards. The final theme worth highlighting is the care taken by the council to rationalise the traffic flows around the city centre and improve access for cyclists. Key examples of this are at Tombland, the former Saxon market, which is currently being resurfaced to include cycle lanes and generous pavements, and the quietly innovative zebra crossing for cyclists between Little Bethel Street and the Chapelfield park. Overall this was an engaging and enlightening tour that gave a real insight into the mechanics of making urban spaces work effectively in historic towns and cities. Tom Hunter Religious reverence There could not have been a more fitting title for the ‘Religious Reverence’ tour as Nicholas Groves, education officer and trustee of the Norwich Historic Churches Trust, and Michael Wingate, surveyor of the fabric of NHCT, led us to eight churches within less than a quarter of a square mile of central Norwich. Norwich retains 32 of its 80 original medieval churches, although not all of these are still in use as places of worship. Half of the churches seen on our tour are now in the care of charities or, as seen in one case, in private hands. Although we did not enter the privately owned church, St Mary the Less, it is clear its change of use from a place of worship to a furniture warehouse and subsequent other uses has led to the deterioration of the fabric. The Grade I building was added to the buildings-at-risk register in 2008, which raises questions as to what could and should be done with it. Ben Webster, who leads Norwich City Council’s design, conservation and landscape team, is a veritable connoisseur of street furniture and urban landscaping (he even has a favourite bollard). So he was the perfect guide for a tour of some of the recent projects that have made the city centre of Norwich such a great environment for pedestrians and cyclists. Our tour took in a wide range of projects, from busy interchanges to small squares and benches. For each Webster gave us an in-depth, insightful and honest history of the project, revealing the tremendous attention to detail and care shown not just in the more recent projects he has worked on, but also on the older schemes dating back to the 1960s. The key themes which stood out to me were a sensitive response to the city’s medieval past; the distinctive use of street furniture; and a creative approach to traffic management in the confined streets of the medieval city. Medieval Norwich was second only to London in its importance. The products of this wealth can be seen to this day in the remains of its city walls, and the enormous number of churches which line its streets. BenWebster introduces delegates to a favourite bollard on the Binding Agent tour (Photo: Tom Hunter)
C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 13 Following this we visited St Peter Hungate. This church has not been a place of worship for some time either. From 1936 to 1995 it served as a museum of church art. This begged the question of what would be considered a more appropriate use for a former church, and whether this could have ultimately paved the way for the secular use of churches in the city.The institutional and educational aspect of the building has been retained. It is currently occupied by Hungate Medieval Art, a charity that promotes Norfolk’s medieval heritage through exhibitions and events. The next church to fall under our scrutiny was St Clement’s on Colegate, a 15th-century church with possible Saxon origins that is occupied by the Stonemasons’ Training Partnership of the Guild of St Stephen and St George, Norwich’s only working medieval guild.The idyllic setting of the church allows the apprentices to do various pieces of work on and around the building.This is certainly a special example of a change of use of a medieval church. We did, of course, visit some churches that were still in use as places of worship, such as St Andrews and the Octagon Unitarian Chapel. These two establishments could not have been more different.The former originates from the late 15th century and is the second largest medieval parish church in the city, while the latter is an 18th-century octagonal building. With declining congregations, it must be asked what future would these unique buildings have? Claire Gayle Non-conformist Norwich Norwich might be a small city in a far corner of the British Isles but it has played a fundamental part in developing the rebellious yet high-minded streak in our national character, as Nick Williams, volunteer at Norwich HEART, alluded to in his intriguing tour of non-conformist Norwich. It was in Norwich in 1531 that Thomas Bilney was burned alive as the first Protestant martyr. Less than 35 years later, the City of Norwich invited the Protestant refugees from the Spanish Netherlands to settle in Norwich to improve the city’s textile industry. The Strangers, as they were known, were given the abandoned church of St Mary the Less on Queen Street as a place to sell their goods. The Strangers would come to form more than a quarter of Norwich’s population and Norwich’s textile industry thrived. St George,Tombland, and (below) Nicholas Groves and Paul Rhymes with delegates outside the church
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