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
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