Context 156 - September 2018

54 C O N T E X T 1 5 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 style. The numerous picturesque cottages orn é s are not specifically mentioned, although Endsleigh in Devon is illustrated. The standard palette was augmented by many, at first expensive, plants introduced from exotic places. The new planting style was to mass plants of the same type for visual impact. Shrubberies became distinctive features with splashes of colour and year-round interest. Separate themed areas included the specialist rose garden. The modern publications of Mark Laird, Mavis Batey and John Harvey are correctly highlighted as essential resources. The main section lists 338 ornamental hardy plants available in Britain between 1780 and 1820, and still readily available, grouped by type with Latin and common names, some dates of introduction and notes on colour. The list is obviously drawn from many sources, including (it can be deduced) a 1778 seed catalogue. The researcher would have welcomed details of sources and criteria. The snap dragon introduced ‘by 1778’ might be mistakenly thought a new exotic (elsewhere John Harvey gives a date of c1500). Three case studies, Brighton Royal Pavilion, a Jersey town house and the Ashridge flower garden, are described. Planting lists for the last two include later varieties to produce a period effect. This highlights a point, not discussed, that planting is inevitably re-creation rather than restoration, a term sometimes confused. The references of primary and secondary sources for further research demonstrate the wealth of information readily available, although with critical appraisal wisely advised. Given such a concise summary of current knowledge and horticultural experience, some quibbles are inevitable. Overall, for any late Georgian garden project this report is a very good starting point and a useful checklist for the future. Helen Thomas, retired architect and historic designed landscape consultant Creative flair New Design for Old Buildings Edited by Roger Hunt and Iain Boyd, RIBA Publishing, 2017, hardback, 272 pages, numerous colour illustrations, ISBN 978 8 59466 12 4, £40 This beautifully produced book is the result of an exciting and novel collaboration between the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. It is set out in a way that will make it an invaluable resource for students and practitioners, as well as planners and conservation officers. There are case studies and themed chapters with plenty of excellent illustrations. The technical sections on materials used in traditional buildings are an exemplary primer for those starting out in practice. The approach is fresh, the book is clearly laid out and some of the best recent work in architectural practice is illustrated here. The editors have included the SPAB manifesto at the beginning of the book. A quote from its first secretary, Hugh Thackeray Turner, that ‘new parts should be plain and unostentatious…’ was surely inviting modernism in design, and advocated taking a distinctive approach to extensions to historic buildings. A good example of that approach, illustrated here, is Stanton Williams’ extension to Compton Verney. To work in this way we need knowledge and understanding of the significance of historic places. The SPAB has always argued that new interventions in historic buildings should be ‘legible’, but I would suggest that new work should not give offence, and that creative conservation should not always mean change. I doubt that anyone would delight for long in the ‘conservative’ repair, after fire, of St Giles House, Dorset. There, in a state room, half a wall of plaster remains next to bare brickwork, yet paintings hang on both surfaces. It looks shabby and temporary. Contrast this with the careful rebuilding after a disastrous fire at Uppark, where the contents and paintings from the house have been returned and sit comfortably in their old surroundings. Despite the SPAB’s suggestion that restoration would produce a ‘sterile copy of a vanished work of art’, the National Trust was able to complete the faithful restoration of Uppark and I doubt that many of their visitors consider that they are looking at a ‘sterile copy’. These arguments are met daily by those of us working with historic buildings.We have often resisted the term ‘conservation architect’, which seems to imply that we do not have the creative flair of others in the profession. Paddy Dillon of Haworth Tompkins speaks of someone working successfully in the historic environment as ‘a creative artist being highly sensitive to and respectful of the existing structures around them’. This is a good starting point. That sensitivity and understanding is shown in many of the illustrated examples in this book. The finest example in a recent major building must be Michael and Patty Hopkins’ Hostry and Refectory at Norwich Cathedral, informed by a deep understanding of the historic development of the cathedral and its cloister. This, while subservient to the medieval structures, is bold in its modern detailing. A similar achievement, but at another scale, are Adam Richards Architects’ museum