6 C O N T E X T 1 0 9 : M A Y 2 0 0 9 1671 and 1677 by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hook.The 18-month contract, overseen by Julian Harrap Architects, involved cleaning, repairs and a significantly improved viewing platform replacing a 1950s cage of iron bars.The re-gilding of the orb surmounting the monument required 23,750 sheets of gold leaf covering 105 square metres. Over 100,000 visitors a year are expected to enjoy the view following re-opening. The March issue has some very useful coverage on the current application of stone for hard landscaping, including the products for efficient pointing of stone paving.The main conservation-related article describes the Heritage Lottery Fund assisted restoration of the imposing painted and gilded Coade-stone statue of George III (commissioned byWeymouth and Portland Borough Council from Osirion Building & Conservation), as described inContext 108 (March), p31. The RICS Building Conservation Journal (March 2009) is devoted to historic glass. Adrian Stenning, chairman of the Building Conservation Forum, expresses in his editorial a perhaps overoptimistic view. He states that there may be some insulation for the sector from the general economic gloom because ‘old buildings always require looking after, regardless of the economic climate’. He rightly identifies deferred or reduced maintenance as storing up problems for the future and an obvious false economy. Ray Stevens discussed the longevity of glass in situ in historic buildings by highlighting the 80 box-sash windows at Calke Abbey which contain their original c1703 glass, of which some panes are only 1.5mm thick. A phased programme of window repairs has thrown up a myriad of factors.These include the structure of the windows, the age and quality of the glass, and how it was made. Existing putties were removed with a half-inch sharp chisel, not a hacking knife.This is because the glass is frail and oil-based (not waterbased) primer was used on the rebates before re-glazing.TheVictorians would have painted the rebates with linseed oil to stop the putty drying out too fast. Theatres, the journal of theTheatres Trust (Vol 19, Spring 2009) looks again at the issue of upgrading historic theatres for 21st century audiences, five years after the trust published its Act Now! report. Act Now! estimated that at least £250 million (at 2004 prices) needed to be spent in theWest End over the following 15 years. Despite the general economic meltdown, it seems that the theatre industry has remained buoyant.The 52 members of the Society of LondonTheatre report that in 2008 13.8 million people spent over £480 million on tickets and advance bookings. As living-working buildings, some tough economics is currently involved.The continuation of conservation in difficult times will be of interest to anyone dealing with the heritage aspects of historic theatres. The trust also explains its experiences and statutory relationship with local development frameworks (LDFs), the importance of policies for cultural facilities and the significance the trust attaches to PPS6 (Planning for Town Centres).To give an idea of the scale of the LDF process, the trust reports that by mid-October 2008 it had received its 2,000th LDF consultation and the flow continues undiminished.The article also illustrates three theatres missed byYork’s core strategy. Other items of interest include an article on the trust’s activities in and vision forWales; a brief illustrated history of two huge theatres (the Pavilion and the Opera House) within Blackpool’sWinter Gardens; and a very interesting piece by DavidWilmore on the lost trade of the theatre furnisher. Although there is still a small industry supplying all manner of historic fixtures and fittings, the art and craft, and knowledge of an old theatre furnisher, such as AR Dean and Co of Birmingham, is difficult to replace. Ian Dungavell inTheVictorian (No 3, March 2009) strikes a warning note in the post-Heritage-Bill and economic meltdown era by drawing attention to the implications for the government’s next comprehensive spending round. It is widely believed that this will be tough on the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and its clients, especially English Heritage. One worry is that while English Heritage has pledged to support the current level of national amenity society casework grants until 2012 (despite the subsequent fall in planning applications), funding for the society’s community engagement project will shrink to nothing. Talk of the green shoots of recovery may be premature, but the landscape historian Hazel Conway gives a useful overview of what has been achieved in restoringVictorian parks in the last 15 years, especially under the Urban Parks Programme. Conway concludes that if that massive investment is to have been worthwhile, it must be managed sustainably.This will require the appropriate horticultural skills where serious shortages exist, as is the case among historic environment professionals. The issue also describes the 30-year campaign leading to the restoration of Joseph Paxton’s Birkenhead Park, the world’s first public park (authorised by Act of Parliament in 1843 and opened in 1847).Widely considered one of the best, its condition was not always matched by its maintenance. It was described as ‘run-down and decayed’ in 1967, with its important structures such as the Swiss Bridge vandalised. Its recent transformation and rehabilitation conservation has been the result of £11.3 million investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and the European Union. Three other successes under the Urban Parks Programme are also described: Alexandra Park, Oldham (1865), restored 2004; Sheffield Botanical Gardens (1836), where restoration commenced in 1998 and continues; and Baxter Park, Dundee (1863), another Paxton park, restored over five years commencing in 2001. Bob Kindred MBE
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