C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 21 character, although awareness of it should be encouraged by his study of it published by English Heritage, just as Sharman Kadish’s books had done for Jewish heritage. The decline of the parish church, as reflected in the existence of the Churches Conservation Trust, could be seen as a loss of indigenous distinctiveness. Dave Chetwyn argued that defending and protecting local heritage should be the responsibility of local communities and that they needed increasingly to take the initiative, possibly through neighbourhood plans. Kate Clark’s point that significance was not enough, that the wider social and economic benefits of heritage were what must be identified and promoted to obtain support at government level, was a reminder of the difficult economic and political times, and that the unseasonably cold weather of this June weekend was a foretaste of a chill winter to come. Several speakers lamented government’s lack of interest in heritage, reflected in the change of departmental name from National Heritage to Culture Media and Sport. The potential success of partnerships between local authorities and local bodies such as building preservation trusts was illustrated in Darren Barker’s inspirational talk on conservation and skills training in Yarmouth. But in the present circumstances, with the decline of the public sector, new solutions are required.That was the subject of much inconclusive discussion at the end of the AGM. David Andrews Friday, 19 June The Norwich Day School: an overview As a major historic centre, revealed by the tax assessment of 1524 as the second city in the land for its wealth and size of its population, Norwich was a fitting place for this year’s annual school. The tours on the Thursday before the day school explored this aspect of the city, taking in the impact of the Norman conquest, with the imposition of the castle and cathedral on its layout, some of the churches, of which there were once 57 but are now 36, and buildings associated with medieval merchants. It was the latter, and the cloth trade, that made Norwich prosperous at the end of the middle ages.Weavers from the Low Countries contributed to it. East Anglia was, and is, part of a North Sea world. These connections influenced its architectural distinctiveness, from the early use of brick to pantiles and Dutch gables. The venue for the Day School was the Open, one of the city’s fine late-19th- and early 20th-century municipal buildings. A notable group of such buildings were the work of the local architect George Skipper (1856–1906), who was the subject of another of the Thursday tours. The Open, which is Grade II listed, was designed by E Boardman and Son and Brierley and Rutherford of York. Originally a Barclays bank, following the typical retreat of banks from the high street it now hosts a very active concert programme and other events. The lectures were held in the main auditorium, the former banking hall, a magnificent lofty vaulted space flanked by Corinthian pilasters of the side aisles with triforium-like floors, which was spoken of by those who remembered using it with awe tinged with regret at the compromises made to achieve the new use. These included a large functional pod supporting a mezzanine, and large suspended boxes for the lighting and sound system. Although making for a very convenient and successful conference space, the best that anyone seemed able to say about it was that it was reversible. The keynote speaker, Jonathan Foyle, emphasised the importance of regional distinctiveness and how it had been eroded by the modern ability to transport materials long distances cheaply. Communities had become unanchored from their traditions, something also seen in the loss of the appreciation of the meaning of symbolism in medieval art and architecture. Peter Aiers of the Churches Conservation Trust touched on this when he presented the parish church as a powerful embodiment of cultural significance and collective memory, even if the meaning contained in the carving and the fittings and fixtures was now mostly lost. Such was the symbolic role of parish churches in local communities that those of other faiths would come to its aid. Muslim architecture in Britain, as we heard from Shahed Saleem, had yet to develop a locally distinctively Delegates entering the ruins of St Margaret’s Chapel,Wymondham Abbey, on the tour of Norfolk and the Brecks
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