Context 153 - March 2018

4 C O N T E X T 1 5 3 : M A R C H 2 0 1 8 The Maintenance and Repair of Traditional Farm Buildings This guidance provides practical advice to farmers, land managers and others involved with the maintenance and repair of traditional farm buildings. It explains how work of this kind can be considered in a wider context of sustainable management to ensure that these buildings have an economic value and a future. The guidance is primarily directed at buildings in active farming or related uses, but recognises that with changing agricultural practices and economic pressures many traditional farm buildings have lost their original purpose, and become vulnerable to neglect and decay. Many may need urgent works to prevent further deterioration of their structure and fabric. To complement these revisions, Historic England has published Historic England Advice Note 9:The Adaptive Reuse of Traditional Farm Buildings. This provides a synopsis of the issues involved in adapting traditional farm buildings to new uses. It places the need to understand the significance of any farmstead or building, its relationship to the wider landscape setting and its sensitivity and capacity for change, within the context of the National Planning Policy Framework. The documents can be found on the Historic England website at https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/ caring-for-heritage/rural-heritage/ farm-buildings Headstone Manor restored The Grade I listed Headstone Manor has reopened after a £5.7 million restoration. The moated manor house, standing among medieval barns and a granary, has been transformed into a multi- media museum for the London Borough of Harrow. Built around 1310, it is the earliest surviving timber-framed building in Middlesex. The newly restored fabric of Headstone Manor contains examples of architecture, wallpapers and decoration dating from the 14th, 17th and 18th centuries. The house is surrounded by the only surviving complete and filled moat in Greater London, which was built as a status symbol for the manor’s landlord. The neighbouring Great Barn, 45m long, 15m wide and over 9m tall, was built in 1501. Small grants for church repair The Churches Conservation Foundation’s new small grants programme is open for applications. Grants of £250–£2,000 are available for conservation work to the fabric and contents of historic listed churches, which would not normally be undertaken in the regular cycle of repair and maintenance. Examples include work to listed headstones and monuments, wall paintings, rood screens, fonts, carved stonework, stained glass and altar cloths. Details at www. churchesconservation.org Historic England has described Headstone Manor as ‘one of the most interesting domestic complexes in the whole country’. (Photo: Headstone Manor and Museum) The Heritage Alliance has given the annual Ecclesiastical’s Heritage Heroes Award to David Martyn, the founder of the KingsWeston Action Group.The group champions the 300-acre parkland estate surrounding Grade I listed KingsWeston house in north Bristol.