James Douet on ways of getting back to our roots RECOVERING URBAN PAINTING TRADITIONS Many British towns have, over the last 100 years, progressively lost much of their historic appearance as traditions of surface treatment and colouring have been discarded. Lime renders have been stripped off to reveal tottery rubble walls; stucco cut away to show off dodgy brick work; and traditions of painting and colouring buildings forgotten. I was struck last autumn while doing a list review in Tewkesbury how much of the town, now bared limestone rubble (dressed on the classier buildings), carried evidence of formerly rendered surfaces or of strongly coloured painted finishes to the stone. Before habits of protecting walls with long-term sacrificial render coats (themselves reinforced with maintenance coats of limewash) were abandoned, the town had a very different personality. Many of the more prestigious buildings also had painting schemes which complemented the architectural effects. Moreover the loss of this historic appearance is compounded by the accelerated weathering of unprotected stone or brickwork, with the corrosive potential of the atmosphere at a historically high level. The reasons behind this loss are varied, but conservators from all over the world complain about the same problem. There is an obvious interest in the archeological messages carried by the exposed walls, to such an extent that in Italy it is popular in some towns for windows to be cut through the render to show off earlier buried details, of the general architectural understanding of the building. There is a feeling that the old stones carry a greater historic value, the patina of age, which is of course lost by renewed finishes. And more ironically, rationalist or expressionist ideas derived from the Modern Movement about not concealing structures have conspired to remove or not replace old surface treatments. Policies aimed at re-establishing local historic finishes may founder on popular misconceptions of how old buildings should look. To convince and win support, they need to be informed by accurate studies which establish local traditions of paint and related finishes on different types of building, at different times. Systematic researches of this kind have been carried out in a number of Italian towns, and more recently an American study was made of the Vieux Carre district of New Orleans. This project sets out to provide "a historically accurate and representative exterior paint palette", to substantiate the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development's policies on colour and external finishes, in an area of rich and diverse architectural traditions. Although the city was fortunate in being able to draw on wonderful archival records which included watercolours of all the buildings sold at auction, the primary source was from systematic sampling from the buildings, followed by pigment and material analysis. The methodology involved an initial typological study to establish a number of representative traditional architectural forms. Examples of each could be sampled, so that the evolutionary paths of surface treatment could be traced, as well as picking up colour relationships with different architectural elements. Likewise those on different building types, and in different areas. Samples were scraped off, collected and analysed, and the results used to determine the visual appearance of the various types, and areas, at particular times. From these it is possible to demonstrate not just a subjective aesthetic preference that may have pertained at some or other period, but also architectural effects which had become lost or covered up, and the visual unity and coherence which urban fabric can lose when long-lasting tradition of surface treatment are abandoned. Moreover, practical benefits underlying colour choice became apparent, such as the use of toxic white lead or copper arsenic greens for protecting woodwork from insect attack. All this of course is the preamble to a proposal to carry out such a study in this country. This will form part of a research programme with the Department of Conservation Science at the University of Bournemouth and Professor John Ashurst, be sponsored by Keim Paints, and work closely with a local authority, probably in the Cotswolds. The role of the university is first to assist in the design of the study. Moreover, it has an impressive facility for materials analysis and it is important to BUILDINGS AT RISK 12 BUILDINGS AT RISK ? Buildings at Risk Trust Number One Greenhill Wirksworth Derbyshire DE4 4EN tel: (0629) 826292 fax: (0629) 826390 The Buildings at Risk Advisory Service is ready to help you save historic buildings. Together with our consultants, we will give advice, or prepare a feasibility study or, if necessary, we can acquire the building or manage its restoration for you. We look forward to hearing from you . Trustees: Thomas Lloyd FSA (Chairman) TheDukeofGraftonKG LordMontaguofBeaulieu Dame Jennifer Jenkins DBE DrR W Brunskill OBE Managers: Alan Bemrose (Secretary) tel: 0831 178015 Michael Pearce ARIBA MRTPI FRSA tel: 0836 612490 Registered Charity No. 1014217, Company No. 2709013, Registered Office No. 1 Greenhill, Wirksworth, Derbyshire DE4 4EN, VAT No. 593 3851 09 CONTEXT 40
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