C O N T E X T 1 4 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 7 49 Anglo-Saxon archaeology, medieval castles, towns and monasteries. It has a fine claim to be the heartland of the industrial revolution, with loads of great architecture, settlements and both industrial and designed landscapes. Dudley is somewhere heritage has to justify itself by meeting the community’s needs. As a conservationist you are the standard bearer there, making the case for using, not losing heritage and conserving local distinctiveness, while helping good development happen. Your favourite book? JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (and The Silmarillion). The book has a lot of personal meaning in my family and has been present at important moments. I even read some extracts at my father’s funeral. What do you do in your spare time? I do quite a bit of 10K trail running and I read a lot. I belong to a very nerdy board-games club. I used to be quite a competitive fencer. I have two young children and a wife who probably deserve more of my time than they get, but I am proud to be a ‘ballet dad’. What organisations are you a member of? I’m a Quaker (a member of the Religious Society of Friends), and that means getting involved in lots of different campaigns to promote equality, freedom of belief, and peace. I support several humanitarian organisations. I’m also a ghost (inactive but I read the transactions) member of the Medieval Settlement Research Group and the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. Which one issue would you particularly like the IHBC to campaign on? Attaining VAT rebates for necessary repairs and maintenance of listed buildings. Rob Lloyd-Sweet is historic places adviser, South East England, for Historic England. Buddleia: coming to a historic site or building near you
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