ACO BUSINESS NEWS Officers/Town Planners in 1993/4. Conservations Officers (lumped under Town Planners) did not feature among the list of 14 conservation professions for which Sir Bernard Fielden had prepared profiles. The ACO provided a profile which it was hoped covered most (if not all) of Conservation Officers' tasks. While there seemed to be acceptance at the meeting of the statement that "the role of the professional will change with age and experience", there was a strong emphasis on specialist qualifications and on the new courses being set up. What these do not provide is the practical experience of both building conservation and working the system which is essential for success as a Conservation Officer. We need to make sure that any standards and accreditation criteria reflect the practical realities of Conservation Officers' work. While the following COT AC meeting was on 17 November (and therefore after this issue went to press) it is likely that further discussionswill have been held. These issues are very important not only in formally establishing the Conservation Officer's role, but in relation to possible future changes, particularly the introduction of Compulsory Competitive Tendering and local government reorganisation. If you have views to express, pass them to Mickey King, the ACO's Education representative. John Preston MEMBERSHIP NOTES In the three months between July and 30 September the ACO has increased its membership to 1,123. We wish to welcome the 25 who have joined. We also wish the four who have resigned well. We sadly report the death of Jeremy Crook (see Obituary, this page). The 25 new members are: MarkAlford Mark Bennet SarahD Collings David] Cook Ronald Douglas RobinD Evetts BernadetteGoslin Paul B A Hoppen Caroline A Kearey ClareH King JessicaLaurence ScotA Masker GeoffMaybank 36 Caroline Pope AndrewRichards Zoe H Richer StevenM Robb Diana Sheppard Alison Sinclair Richard J Small Carol J Smith Patrick Strange Catherine Tranmer AlexanderG Walker Harriet Whitehorn New members are from the following employers and backgrounds: FullMembers England DC 4 cc 3 London 2 EnglishHeritage I Wales National Park 2 Scotland HistoricScotland 2 AssociateMembers Trust Private Students We particularly welcome the representatives from the following bodies (until recently not represented within the ACO): Ryedale (Yorks) DC Chiltern (Bucks) DC Snowdonia National Park (Wales) Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust. EAST ANGLIA BRANCH You will be reading this just after the 10th Cambridge Conference: apologies for the absence from the last Context of publicity for this, and of Branch News, owing to a series of difficulties. The Traditional Earth Building training video prepared by Jacky Wilkinson and Dirk Bouwens is imminent; news of this and of the conference in the next issue. John Preston SOUTH WEST BRANCH The Branch autumn visit rook place on 24 September. In the morning we visited Woodchester Mansion lying in a deep Cotswold valley near Stroud. The gothic fog was actually not stage managed, but the mansion could easily have been an elaborate film set with its theatrical setting and complete exterior shell. The incomplete interior, however, is something very special. It was just as if the craftsman had gone on strike one Friday afternoon and never returned, leaving in place things like wooden arch centering. The Mansion was built between 1854 and 1868 by a little known young architect, Benjamin Bucknall, who overdosed at an early age on the OBITUARY JEREMY PETER CROOK, he studied for the Keele Conservation Officer with University MA in architectural Tamworth Borough Council in history, qualifying in 1990. His Staffordshire, died on 28 July dissertation on the work of 1993 at the early age of 39. A Charles Holden won a planning graduate with an earlier distinction. In 1989 he changed career in housing, he entered the jobs and moved to Tamworth conservation profession in 1986, Borough Council. Cancer first when he became second became apparent in 1992, but he Conservation Officer with fought it and remained at work. Walsall Metropolitan Borough However, it did not Council. A local pioneering relinquish its hold, leading to his 'upper floor' conversion scheme death. He leaves a widow, Judy, at 1-3 Church Street, Darlascon, and two children, Joseph and that he had masterminded as a Catherine. His mortal remains housing officer received the now lie in St John's churchyard Walsall Heritage Award in 1987. at Shenstone, his home village. Sponsored by his employers, Peter Arnold theories of Eugene Violett-leDuc. The design is an odd but attractive mix of French Gothic and Cotswold vernacular. The craftsmanship evident in the part constructed vaulting and traceried windows is superb. The intriguing history of the building and the bold ambitions of the Woodchester Mansion Trust, committed to conserve the building (and in the process use it as a centre for training of stone masons), was enthusiastically told by the Trust's secretary, Michael Hill. The mansion is open to the public on selected days in the summer or by prior arrangement. After a pint or two and a pie at the Hunters Hall, Kingscote, we met Chris Smith at his office where he leads the Stroud Valleys Project. Stroud is a genuine 'working' small town, now something of a rarity in the Cotswolds, and it was an important centre of the wool industry in the 18th century. Many of the huge mills along the river valley (which are now within a large elongated conservation area) still survive but are under threat from abandonment and decay or inappropriate uses. The project, which is funded by local authorities, English Heritage and local business, seeks ro protect and conserve not only the mill buildings, but also their historic surroundings such as mill ponds. The contrast between the industrial valleys and the neighbouring countryside now under threat from development was clearly evident as we rook a walk along a small part of the valley. With his usual panache Chris spoke about the work of the project including the coordination of practical conservation work involving the local community. Both visits could only give a glimpse of the work of the two Trusts but they vividly demonstrated the diversity and potential of their work. It is hoped that the next Branch event will be held in the Spring of 1994. If any Branch members have any suggestions for this or any future events please let your county representative know. (listed in Context 39, page 35). Paul Dadson EAST MIDLANDS BRANCH A warm welcome to Dr Sarah Higgins who left North Yorkshire County Council in September to join Jerry Spencer's team at Nottingham City. Sarah has been helping Jane Jackson with the organisation of the ACO school ro be held in York in March 1994, and her experience (dare I suggest!) would be invaluable if the school is to be held in the East Midlands in 1995. Further to Barry Joyce' s article on stone slate roofs in the last issue of Context (page 13) a practical demonstration of stone slate roofing will be held at the National Stone Centre at Wirksworth in late March or early April next year. Topics will include selecting, sorting, grading; dressing; setting-up and slating a roof; poor site practice - identifying faults; and comparing quotations. In addition the centre CONTEXT 40
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