Context 156 - September 2018

C O N T E X T 1 5 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 53 Drayton Hall, Charleston, South Carolina typologies of ‘heritage assets’ in the UK are continuously expanding, the quantification remains small and the outcomes lack inclusivity; much-publicised campaigns by SAVE Britain’s Heritage to counter ‘Pathfinder’, whether in theWhitefield district of Nelson or theWelsh Streets in Liverpool, confirm this. And the delimited definitions of creative occupations and industries upheld by the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – which mirror those adopted elsewhere – focused as they are on marketing, architecture, crafts, design, media, IT, publishing, museums and the performing arts, are significant for what they omit. Such definitions would exclude the vast majority of the inventors and entrepreneurs of history, on whom our industrial cities – at least – depend for their existence as well as their heritage; and they barely touch the surface of the manifold challenges that face humanity and our planet today. To communicate beyond a restricted audience and to have mainstream impact, inclusive definitions are essential.We can not ‘promote creativity and innovation in urban development through culture’ if we do not innovate in the use of the baseline terminology. Missing also, in the emphasis on the improvement of policies, is the critical human factor.What are the cross-disciplinary and specialist skills that are required for mediation and implementation? Brilliantly formulated policies will achieve nothing if the right people are missing and the spectrum and level of their skills is not developed. Urban heritage, for example, is a key component of a complex and dynamic system that engages with a multiplicity of actors beyond the heritage community. If this were formally recognised, locally, nationally and internationally, the status and effectiveness of conservation professionals would be much increased.We need to look to Unesco and others to spearhead this. Culture: Urban Future is an important step along a path that still has a long way to go if culture in all its guises is to realise its potential as an enabler and driver for sustainable development. Dennis Rodwell, architect-planner, consultant in cultural heritage and sustainable urban development Beyond the Red Books Hardy Plants and Plantings for Repton and Late Georgian Gardens (1780–1820) Sarah Rutherford, Historic England, Research Report Series No 20-2018, 39 pages, 21 colour and black and white illustrations, available as a free-to-download 5.31 MB pdf file at http://research.historicengland.org.uk/ Report.aspx?i=16017 This year the garden history world is focused on Humphry Repton (1752–1818), the great landscape designer and successor to Lancelot Building and Landscape Conservation Discovery, Innovation and Science in the Historic Environment Research Report Series no. 20-2018 Hardy Plants and Plantings for Repton and Late Georgian Gardens (1780–1820) Dr Sarah Rutherford, consultant ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-83). The report aims to provide a starting point for anyone involved with planting, managing or researching a late-Georgian garden, and a contribution to the celebrations. Repton was not the only designer in the period, but he was prolific and a great self-publicist, leaving a legacy of books and individual reports to clients. The reports, often bound in red leather and now known as Red Books, included watercolours with lift-up flaps showing scenes before and after implementation of his advice. Often his advice was not followed. Although skilled in proposed effects, Repton was no plantsman. He and others published little detailed planting advice. The report aims to remedy this by considering plants available in the period and how they were used, and sources for further research. Garden historian and Kew-trained Sarah Rutherford rises to the challenge. She has prepared many conservation plans, including one for Ashridge (Repton’s Red Book partly illustrates the report), and her books include Capability Brown and The Arts and Crafts Garden . An overview of garden design in 1780–1820 includes the return (where it ever went away) of the flower garden around the house and the need for elegant gardens to complement the many new smaller houses in pared-down classical