Assoc1at1on of Conservation Officers Quarterly Newsletter No 11 • January 1986 Context
Context Contributions from any member are welcome - indeed, essential! Please send copy to your Regional Contact, or direct to the Editor - addresses in next column. If possible, please type contributions in 85mmcolumns. If you have a choice of type,please use this one - which is Pica Elite 12. FORMATas this issue. Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December. DEADLINESfor copy at the end of February, May, August and November respectively. ILLUSTRATIONSshould be 85mmor 180mm finished width. Photographs should be ready screened. POST all information and copy to the Editor, Jenny Birkett, at 130 Bouverie Avenue South, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 BEA; tel. 0722 336272 ext. 387 (office), or 0722 334129 (home). COVER: On your Marks ... the Inspector, Stephen Marks, at the Public Inquiry into the proposed demolition of the Odeon Cinema, Salisbury, awaits another omslaught by m'l~arned friends, (above). The auditorium dfutes from 1931 and is listed Grade II. Page 2 ACOREGIONALCONTACTS NORTH: Brian Jobling: 0632 816144 (Tyne and Wear County Council) NORTHWEST: Mike King: 0704 33133 xl21 (Sefton Borough Council) YORKSHIRE:Robert Scriven: 0924 370211 (Wakefield Metropolitan DC) x417 W.MIDLANDS: Carole Ryan: 0743 222332 (Shropshire County Council) E.MIDLANDS:Tony Jenkins: 0629 3411 x7182 (Derbyshire County Council) SOUTHWEST: Chris Smith: 0272 290777 x530 (Avon County Council) SOUTH: Chris Brett: 0734 786833 x357 (Wokingham District Council) EAST ANGLIA: John Davey: 0245 352232 (Essex County Council) SOUTHEAST: Geoff Pink: 01 541 9416 (Surrey County Council) LONDON:Rosemarie MacQueen: 01 253 8455 (London Borough of Hackney) SCOTLAND:Nie Allen: 031 343 1911 (Conservation Bureau SDA) WALES: Trevor Thorpe: 0267 4567 (Carmarthen District Council) NORTHERNIRELAND:Colin Hatrick (Department of the Environment NI) ACOOFFICERS CHAIRMAN:Mike Pearce: 09'62 54411 x670 (Hampshire County Council) 52 Hollows Close, Salisbury,Wilts. SECRETARY:Tony Jenkins: 0629 3411 x7182 (Derbyshire County Council) 17 Crimicar Lane, Fulwood, Sheffield SlO 4FA .TREASURER:Peter Richards: 0245 352232 (Essex County Council) 139 Lifstan Way Thorpe Bay, Essex SSl 2XG MEMBERSHIPSECRETARY:John Davey:0245 (Essex County Council) 352232 c/o Globe House, New Street, Chelmsford, Essex PUBLICITY: John Fidler: 01 734 6010 x721 (HBMC)or mess~ges on 01 741 7297 36 Ravenscourt Rd, London W6 OUG EDITOR"CONTEXT":Mrs Jenny Birkett (Salisbury District) 0722 336272 130 Bouverie Avenue South, x387 Salisbury, Wilts. SP2 8EA
ACO COMMITTEE: Yes,(andno) Minister... ACO SUBMISSIONTO THE PARLIAMENTARYSELECT COMMITTEEON THE ENVIRaNMENT:HISTORIC BUILDINGSANDANCIENTMONUMENTS Parliament's Select Committee on the Environment will be addressing Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments in the United Kingdom at formal meetings after Easternthis year. This is a major opportunity for the Association to influence the decision-making process, particularly at a time when the Government is proposing new legislation in the planning field. The format of Select Connnittee hearings is that written connnents are sought, then sifted, and oral examination made before reporting to the House of Connnons. Select Committee reports are sometimes ignored and often dismissed by Government, but the ~rocess often brings to light new and dynamic recommendations for problem solving that eventually influence policy. It is also a means of alerting Parliament to difficulties experienced in using current legislation. It can review the efficacy of regulations, systems and organisations, and can point the way forward to new methods of practice. Procedure The Committee requires written evidence by the end of March 1986 from interested parties. No subjects connected with historic buildings and monuments are barred, but the Committee has sole rights to select the particular issues before it that are to be discussed. In this instance the Select Committ.ee specifically wishes to review the whole field, and more particularly: (I) the way in which buildings and monuments are identified as being of historic interest or value; (2) he_-_system of grants and other forms of financial assistance to encourage the proper maintainance and repair of historic buildings; (3) the arrangements for public access to historic buildings and monuments; (4) the financing, opertaion, and effectiveness of the Historic Buildings and Monumants Commission for England, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments for England. The Select Committee asks for this evidence, together with a brief description of the interested parties, their constitutions, activities, objectives and financial resourceslt then decides which parties to call in evidence and they are invited to attend oral interviews. The ACORi!sponse As officers at the sharp end of the consequences of recent planning and economic history connected with the environment, members of the ACOare ideallly placed to comment on the present state of affairs in the conservation field and on the Government's current line. The ACO Committee therefore feels it is important to make formal representations to the Parliamentary Select Committee, and in order to do this asks all members to participate in opinion and information gathering. Topics No burning issues should be excluded from members' comments, but the Committee suggests below areas it feels need to be addressed in addition to those subjects already chosen by the Select Committee. Certain ACOConnnittee members, because of their interest or special expertise, have volunteered to co-ordinate the collection of comments and data in certain fields. Members are asked to send any comments they have in these topic areas direct to the ACO Committee members concerned. All other comments should be passed, via the Regional Representative, to the Chairman by the third week of February. Proof ACOopinions and connnents on the working of the conservation system must be rePage 3
inforced with hard facts. Members are asked to quote from speaific cases when illustrating points of view, and to be prepared to produce this evidence if needed. Only by this method will the Association be taken seriously. TOPIC AREA GRANTS: eg 86% of grants from HBMC go to 6% of the listed building stock, Is this fair? RE-LISTING CONSEQUENCESe:g 80% increase in lists with no extra resources in LA manpower, grant aid, etc <LAW: eg Section 101 powers for occupied buildings? VAT: all together now, one more time ... ! TAX INCENTIVES: ttere are none ... us and Dutch models for adoption? HOUSINGACT PROBLEMS: drying-up of major source of conservation funding. Differing objectives lead to unsympathetic alterations funded by Housing Act monies. CONTACT Mike Pearce (Hampshire CC) Chris Smith (Avon CC) John Fidler (HBMC) Brian Jobling (Tyne & Wear CC) John Fidler (HBMC) Carole Ryan (Shropshire CC) OTHERS: eg performance of HBMC;should HBMC,RCHMand HMFbe combined; development control problems on buildings both listed and scheduled; ecclesiastical exemption; redundant buildings; shortage of specialist staff. JOHN FIDLER writes: After the 0ACOJs submission, it will be copying its documentation to the Secretary of State; to the Chairman, of the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies, Matthew Saundersi Also, I suggest that a formal press conference and press release are made to advertise our existence. Other parties that would be interested in ACO/s views are the CPO Societies; the Environmental Committees of the Local Authorities Associations; the RIBA and the RTPI. This is a major opportunity for the Association to influence the decision-making process that affects its members professional lives. Lets do a good job! Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest DIANA PHILLIPS, Assistant Secretary at the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, has written to tell us about the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens now being prepared by HBMC. Our Gardens Committee thought that Conservation Officers might be interested to know about the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens being compiled by English Heritage. As it is being issued in sections, county by county, some will already have received lists for their areas, while others may still be unaware Page 4
of the enterprise. One of the ve~y few new tasks laid on this Commission by Parliament, when we were set up, was a duty, if compiling a register of "gardens and other land situated in England and appearing to them to be of special historic interest", to send copies of the entry to the owner, occupier, the relevant county and district planning authorities, and the Secretary of State. This was an unusual provision. It does not compel -us to draw up a register, but ensures that if we do so the register has a publicly recognized status. Why such a register? Our belief is that it is necessary to draw attention to important historic gardens and parks as an essential part of the nation's heritage. If their existence is not widely enough known, they could all too easily appear as blank spaces on the map - conveniently waiting for road schemes or other new development. The Commission believes that the register will be helpful both in warning developers what to avoid, and in encouraging all thosJ concerned to protect the heritage. We hope that planners and Conservation Officers will ensure that the existence of a registered g~rden is highlighted, perhaps with a large green star, on all their constraint maps; and that in future reference will be made to them in structure and local plans. In our task we have of course been able to build on the pioneering work done by several individual local authorities, and have been helped by the Centre for the Conservation of Historic Parks and Gardens at the Univeristy of York. Our register is intended to supplement and reinforce their work, which will inevitably be more detailed than any national inventory. We will continue to encourage all such initiatives, and hope to be able to use their findings in our future revsions. The register includes only gardens and parks with historic features dating from 1939 or earlier. It is a register of gardens of special historic interest, so that some gardens of great beauty, or of botanical or horticultural interest, will have been omitted. As with buildings, the gardens are graded I, II* or II, and the notes indicate type of site, area in hectares, dates and designers of key surviving elements and other interesting aspects such as historic associations and main published references. They do not, however, include maps; We hope to include maps in the future, but to prepare them requires a great deal of time-consuming fieldwork and would have delayed production of the register - by years rather than months -whereas we.were anxious to issue it quickly so asto provide an element of protection for this important part of our heritage. In the short term we are prepared to produce more detailed information including maps or plans if, for example, in the context of a planning inquiry it is essential to do so. We would like to have been able to back up the register by announcing that grants were available to help owners restore or maintain historic gardens; alas.., this is not the case. Grants continue to be available for buildings of outstanding interest, including important garden buildings; but English Heritage is not at present in a position to offer grants for maintain ance or upkeep of the gardens themselves. If anything, this makes the register doubly important. Preservation of historic gardens has to depend on a strong and informed public opinion which wishes to see this significant part of our heritage preserved. Vigilance is so important, but is not possible without informationand that is what the register is all about. Apart from copies sent free of charge to owners, occupiers, and local authorities, volumes of the Register are on sale to the public, price £2.86 per county, including postege. Cheques, payable to English Heritage, to HBMCStores, Room 32, Building 1, Vision Way, Victoria Road, South Ruislip, Middlesex. Page 5
ANDREW BROWN Albion Street, Chester A CONSERVATIOANPPROACHTO HOUSINGIMPROVEMENTC:HESTER'SALBION STREETHOUSINGACTIONAREA Carole Ryan wrote in the last issue of CONTEXT of the diminution of historic value which often occurs when houses are flUbject to improvement and repair with the benefit of Housing Act grants. This has prompted ANDREW BROWN, Conservation Officer for the City of Chester, to send in a description of the City s Albion St Housing Action Area programme of rehabilitation, which expressed the ~irm intention of restoring the original appearance of houses while carrying out repair and improvement. Since 1981 the Council of the City of Chester has been promoting a special rehabilitation scheme in a small city centre housing area. The south-east corner of the walled city was developed with small terraced housing during the late 1860's, and by the 1960's the area was under threat from the expanding commercial centre. The report "Chester - A Study in Conservation" by Donald W Insall and Associates, published in 1968, stated that this was" ... a most pleasant and well-used corner, eloquent of the advantages that could result from future domestic use in favoured sites within the walled city". It also noted that the ninetsenth century terraced cottages were .at the end of their usePage 6 ful life, and therefore proposed re-development with flats and maisonettes. As a result the Council demolished a. number of sub-standard properties, including a group of 'listed' buildings, the restoration of which had been thwarted by restrictions in local government expenditure. An increasing appreciation of the value of retention and renovation changed the Council's policy and in 1979 the area was included in a programme of housing rehabilitation. The Council also decided to adopt policies that would safeguard the Victorian character of the area. Home improvement schemes often result in 'modernisation' of the outside appearance of houses which destroys the consistent quality and character of an area. The location of the Albion Street Area within the city walls justified the establishment of a special scheme intended to restore the original external appearance of the houses at the same time as the internal improvements. The Albion Street Housing Action Area was declared in April 1981 covering sixtynine houses. With the agreement of the residents a package of associated measures were adopted. An Article 4 ~irection was approved by the Secretary of State so that the Council could control minor external
alterations. A design guide was produced for house owners explaining features and details which were important to the character of the houses. In order to ensure that residents and owners would not have to bear the additional cost of restoring .the external features a five year Section 10 scheme with grants from the Department of Environment was negotiated. Such grants are calculated to reflect the additional costs of using historic materials and details, and supplement the Housing Act grants without double counting. The scheme has been fully supported by the Historic Building and Monuments Commission since 1984. The average cost of a full improvement and restoration scheme on a single house in the area was around £16,000 in 1984. The average Section 10 grant for such a scheme was approximately £2,000. A number of properties had been improved before the scheme started and some of the original features, such as doors and windows, had already been altered. The Section 10 grant scheme, together with matching grants from the City Council, encouraged the owners of these properties to re-instate the original features. In two cases this involved building 'dummy' chimney stacks. The two social centres of the Victorian community have also been included in the general enhancement of the area. The Albion Public House has had it's original appearance restored by its brewery owners, encouraged by a token conservation grant. In particular, external soil pipes have been removed from the front elevation and etched glass inserted in the windows. The Welsh Congregational Chapel had been struggling with a small congregation for many years, and was in a poor state of repair, with extensive dry rot. Part of the church was used by the St John Ambulance Brigade, who purchased the building in 1985 and carried out an extensive repair scheme with the help of a Section 10 grant. They intend to convert it into a first aid training centre, with exhibition and lecture rooms. The funds available for environmental improvements in the Housing Action Area have been concentrated on restoring the original appearance of the streets. Pavement surfaces have been restored with original materials, a communal television aerial has been installed and telephone wires undergrounded. These works also received Section 10 grants from the Commission. The effective re-creation of an "historic environment" will be completed by the restoration of the street surfaces in sandstone setts. As a result of the City Council's sustained promotion of the scheme over the past five years there has been a dramatic change in the area, both socially and environmentally. There is confidence in the future and a pride in living in what was once a neglected corner of the city. The quality of the area is readily appreciated by residents and by visitors passing along the city wall nearby. The 'conservation approach' to housing improvement has been a success and the City Council are already involved in a similar scheme in another area. Albion St Welsh Congregational Chapel Page 7
DEREK LATHAM: The Role of the Consultant Derek Latham, of Derek Latham and ~ssociates, (architects, town plamners, landscape architects and historic buildings consultants) is well known for his work for the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust. Here he reflects on the salutary effects of crossing the fence, from the conservation officers to the consultants role; and shows us ourselves as others see us. T~E ROLE OF THE CONSULTANT To consider my role as consultant I must first return to those halcyon days I spent as Design and Conservation Officer in Derbyshire. "If only", I mused, "If only I were putting in the applications, undertaking the repair work, or designing new buildings for those difficult infill sites - if only I were doing it - the problem would be-so much easier -and the worlq a better place! It was not that such thoughts were clearly in my head, for it is only upon reflection that I realise that such thoughts must have connnanded my subconscious appreciation and assessment of many of the proposals and projects that I dealt with - I only hope now now that I was not too arrogant because of those unspoken assumptions. I think not, for in reality the mental transferral of roles led me, I hope, to a better understanding of the position of the applicant, appellant, and most pertinently, the consultant! So what was it like? Indeed, what is it like? Well, a different viewpoint clearly changes your perspective. It is not, I hope, that the values change but certainly the methods of acgieving them do. From an environment where I spent my life as motivator, exhorting my colleagues (particularly those undertaking development control advice within the highway department) to respond quickly, and more generally promoting a sense of urgency and decisiveness into the local authority machine, - I found myself in the contrary situation, constantly explaining to clients tr:r rhey could not start work next week, that the Consenvation Officer woyld not have a grant payment cheque upon him on our first visit, and that when people asked you to do things yesterday they meant it! Long explanations as to how long the due democratic process took met with "Don't you want this job, old son - these are problems I pay you to sort out. Now when can we start?" The next revelation was one of communication. The disbelief in people's faces when you tell them that the Planning Officer might be there to help them ( and not just a hurdle to be jumped) was some~ thing of a revelation. Why had it not occurred to me before that people are always polite to the Planning Officer (well, not always) because they feel that must be the best way of achieving a planning permission quickly? A ready ability to say 'yes' to the Planning Officer's suggestions, when they had not the slightest intention of so doing, only compounds confusion. The thought of actually, genuinely, disagreeing with the ~lanning Officer, in order to illustrate what they really intend , and to develop a proper dialogue, (trying to understand the Planning Officer's point of view as well as trying to get him to uhderstand theirs), seemed a long way.off, The need for a connnunicator, or rather an inter~ preter-, became all to clear. Of course it is unfair to bracket all clients in this mould, but the early months of a new practice seem to attract those people who are not familiar with the normal aEchitectural and planning roles, or those who, though familiar, will try and avoid them, to 'try on' their own ploys with a 'green' practice which is eager to please.its new-f9und clients. I must confess that, after years of practice, I am only a little wiser in identifying initially those clients who are likely to play fair with me, as • opposed to those whose intentions are not strictly honourable! Personal appearance and background can be deceptive; perhaps our best client, financially, and now a very good friend, who has taken innnense entrepreneurial risks, is known to deal constantly in cash, (except for us), and appears to work 25 hours a day, started life as a potato picker; but has always Page 8
treated us with honour, respected our advice and made the maximum use of our services, paying regularly wi~hout argument. So far we have provided him with £0.5 million's worth of work without a single letter from him - the only things he writes to us are cheques! On the other hand, the most dishonourable organisation we have dealt with is a Building Society ( who shall remain nameless), whose word we trusted but did not have clearly enough in writing; so that when a scheme aborted with £20,000 owing on fees they avoided payment without hesitation or compassion! But the rewards are great. The satisfaction of having 'saved' a building -'' thought to be beyond economic repair; of having brought together problem structure, potential client and reluctant financier, lubricated them with hard-won grants, and senn satisfaction on everyone's face - especially that of the building now _ loved and cared for; the re-assurance of working with young craftsmen that care, the excitement of 'discovering' a new solution to an old problem - whether technical,or conceptual; the pride in designing new accommodation in harmony with its surroundings; the teamwork, spirit and care, - even, on occasion, the allnight 'work-ins' All this, and more! But the highlight is reserved for those times when the brief, site and surroundings require a new building of distinct character to take its place alongside the old -designing our new heritage while respecting our past. Such commissions require the greatest armoury of skills that the conservation architect can bring to bear,- not only our most creative flair and technical knowledge but most importantly, every ounce of our experience. It is of this last that we can never have too much. The experience of others as wel1 as our own, experience that transcends the boundary between public and private practice. Reflecting again, the role of consultant is not so very different from that of Conservapion Officer; it is only the part we play in the process that makes it appear so. ProfessionalLiability and Indemnity GEOFFREY LANE, formerly of Norwich City Council Planning Dept., has become a consultant relatively recently. He writes here of a specific problem: professional liability and indemnity in historic buildings work. The problems of professional liability and indemnity insurance have latterly loomed large for all in private practice. Clients are becoming ever more liable to resort to the courts when a problem arises, which has led to a rapid escalation of insurance premiums. Recent cases have shown that this is not just a problem for private practitioners, but one of serious concern to all who have responsibility for old buildings. Engineers frequently claim that a frame must be inserted into a listed building because the structure is unable to be proved by calculation. When this line is resisted, the engineer cites the protection of his indemnity insurance premium and the need to avoid the risk of action as the inescapable reasons for this approach. Although often an excuse offered by engineers who are incapable of understanding historic structures, in a core of cases there are conflicts between the conservative repair of a building, and the legal liability should the building require additional repairs at a later date. In taking the line preferred by members of ACO, the engineer runs the risk of both civil action and greatly increased premums. This pressure is likely to be extended to architects and others where conservative repair techniques are to be employed. This approach carries with it the understanding that further works may be required at a future date. Similarly, the complete openeing up of a building is eschewed, as this is felt to be too damaging of early surfaces and finishes, carrying the risk that faults may become evident at a later date. The threat arises from,a current case where a house was repaired to SPAB principles by its owner, who Page 9
employed an architect but took responsibility for supervision. He expected a future rnaintainance liability, but sold the house for unrelated reasons. When the need for further maintain ance became evident,the new owner instituted legal action against him. He is a barrister, but expects to lose the case although all his work was of a sound standard, as he did not undertake a ,thorough progrannne of repairs. If his expectation proves to be correct, then the effect upon both owners and their architects will be profound, as it will place them at extreme hazard in law to follow this approach to the repair of historic buildings. Similarly, insurance companies will not cover works where this line is adopted. The effect of this does not stop with the owner and his architect. It is probable that the SPAB could be sued on the basis of the advice it makes freely available, and that local authorities and conservation officers cculd be liable for obliging or advsing owners to adopt conservative repair techniques. If followed to an extreme conclusion, this would make all but the most destructive methods of repair an unaacceptable risk at law. Such a risk to the 'heritage is surely unacceptable even to the legislature. In order to assess the risk of this arising, I am seeking information on other cases. If you have experienced liability problems, please send details to G.S. Lane, 10 Morton Close, Aylsham, Norwich NRI 6BB. Finally, I woula ask all memhers to take an interest in this matter through their various professional bodies. Geoffrey Lane CAPITAL MARBLE Specialists in: e RESTORATION e SURFACE REPAIRS e CLEANING of all types of Natural Stone, Terra Cotta and Marble. We are fully experienced in the detailed and exacting repair work on ancient buildings and monuments. Our Clients include Property Services Agency, Local Authorities and Private Companies. CAPITAL MARBLE Ltd., Unit 1, 10 Acklam Road, London WlO 5QZ. Tel. 01-968 5340 PagelO
MEMBERS' FORUM DEAL APPEAL A recent LBC appeal decision relating to internal alterations to a listed early 19th century house in Deal, Kent, may be of interest since it raises some disquieting points about the attitude, and level of education concerning conservation issues, of individuals in the Inspectorate, and of the DoE. The proposal involved the removal of a ground floor rear wall and associated chimney breast in one room of the house, in order to allow this to be extended into a small existing rear addition. It was refused LBC, Dover District Council arguing, among other things, that the plan of the house was of importance as, unusually for Deal, it was an early nineteenth century example, on three floors, of a one room deep, doublefronted and blind-backed type. Deal possesses a large number of eighteenth and early nineteenth century houses of small dimensions, derived, one suspects, from late seventeenth century prototypes. The form of development is the terrace, but there is great diversity of elevational treatment and section. Dwellings with scaled-down inglenook fireplaces, spiral stairs and catslide rear roofs occur side by side with more sophisticated types with later symmetrical plans. Generally type-plans fall into two categories - narrow frontage/deep depth and, more rarely, wide frontage/shallow depth, as in this case. There had originally been two chimney stacks at the rear of the house, serving a pair of rooms on each.floor and at some time in the past these had been removed at first, second floor and roof level. Thus the only evidence ~f the former arrangement, or indeed former existence, of the chimney stacks etc. was at ground floor. In one ground floor room the firebreast and fireplace setting had already been altered and mutilated; this it was proposed to leave alone. The other room, which contained original dado-level panelling, door, pilaster-strips and mantleshelf to the fireplace, was to be drastically altered by the removal of the rear wall and firebreast. In the context of the historical/archaeological aspects of Circular 23/77, objection to this move seemed strongly based and reasonable. However, the appeal Inspector, Mr. F. Cosgrove RIBA, TPI, argued that if the pattern of the house as outlined above was "of such architectural and historic interest that examples should be preserved, it would be much better to protect houses which have the whole of the rear chimney breasts and stacks intact. The appeal property has only its ground floor chimney breasts extant and their preservation would not seem to me to contribute anything to architecture or history." This is a strangely primitive view of the conservation of listed buildings and shows failure to grasp the principles by which we all work. The Inspector effectively offers, furthermore, a gratuitous invitation to the owner to do away with the other remnant of chimney breast as well. He continues, "In my opinion that interior of the building is not of special architectural or historic interest. The description of the building in the Statutory List is three lines long and refers only to the front of the building. Since the list description indicates the quality and value of the building included, it would appear that the value of the appeal property is the contribution its external appearance makes to the townscape of Deal. As the proposed removal of the chimney breast would not be apparent from outside the appeal property and would have no effect on the appearance of the listed building or the conservation area, its retention, in my opinion, serves no useful purpose." This is an interesting, if these days, rather unusual, view but not unexpected in the light of the earlier pronouncement. On the basis of Mr. Cogrove's report, Page 11
the Secretary of State considered that "the chimney breast and the panelling which it is proposed to remove are not of sufficient intrinsic architectural or historic interest to justify the refusal of listed building consent for this work, particularly as the remainder of the chimney breast at first and second floor level has already been removed ••• " The significance of the firebreast as a last remnant confirming the original building-layout was thus not considered a valid matter by the DoE, any more than by the Inspector. One wonders what the DoE's view would have been had it proved to be a 17th, rather than 19th century, feature. The Secretary of State, in upholding the appeal, was however obliged to correct the Inspector's ideas about the list description, noting that he wished "to make it clear that he does not subscribe to the view implied in••• the Inspector's Report that because a particular feature of the building, whether internal or external, is not mentioned in the list description it is of no intrinsic interest. The list description is not intended to be an exhaustive account of the features of interest of a listed building but merely to indicate some of the most apparent features." J.R. Harrison ACTION ON RE-POINTING Following my request for information on ant enforcement actions or prosecutions taken against owners who have carried out inappropriate re-pointing on listed buildings, I have received details from Colin Percy of the City of Newcastle-uponTyne and Philip Wilson of the London Borough of Barnet of actions they are currently undertaking. The cases are briefly as follows. At Ne 9 St Thomas St, Newcastle, the owner carried out unauthorised works to the Grade II house including stone cleaning, replacement of door and windows, refacing of a basement area with concrete instead of stone, and re-pointing of a random stone wall. The City decided that there would be little advantage in taking enforcement action on the effect of the cleaning and the replacement doorcantl windows, but to do so in the case of the concrete facing and the re-pointing. The latter was carried out in a raised mortar joint which is potentially damaging to the stone through penetration of water above the joint, as well as being uncharacteristic of the area. In the second case, in Hampstead Garden Suburb, two Grade II Parker and Unwin buildings were the subject of unsatisfactory partial re-pointing carried out in a strong cement mortar, resulting in a patchy effect. The London Borough of Barnet is proceeding with a prosecution in the local Magistrates Court and the case is due to be heard in January 1986 following an adjournment. In discussion it has been agreed that enforcement action will not be taken if the remainder of the elevation is re-pointed in a suitable lime mortar; removal of what appears to be a 1:3 cement/sand mortar which has firmly set would only damage the fine bricks used for the buildings. Neither case is yet concluded. However, I am very grateful to the correspondents and to those who have offered verbal encouragement -it appears the problem is widespread and should receive wider publicity. I hope to be able to report further in the next issue. Jenny Birkett POST SCRIPT: I have now received details of another case in Kent. Sevenoaks District Council is proceeding with Enforcement Action against the owner of an ClB house in Otford, near Sevenoaks, who has carried out inappropriate pointing to the front of the listed house, which is in a prominent position near the centre of the village. Page 12
J... ANOTHERSCHEDULEDMONUMENTPROBLEM Chignall V1lla at Chignall St James, two miles north west of Chelmsford, is a site which was discovered by aerial photography in 1974, and was scheduled in 1975. The site is of a Roman villa, and although no structure is visible on the ground, differential crop growth seen from the air clearly shows that the foundations of a large building lie beneath the surface. The building consists of three ranges set at right angles to each other around a central courtyard. It is a comparatively rare plan type in Britain, and has been provisionally interpreted as a wealthy residence or villa dating to the 3rd or 4th century AD. As such, the site is of nation~l importance, and the best preserved villa plan in Essex. The owners of the site were well aware of the scheduling, indeed ~ravel extraction has taken place around the site, respecting the scheduled area. However, within the last moth or so the owner has taken three drainage trenches through the site, one going diagonally through the building almost from corner to corner. The work was done without reference to HBMCor any application for Scheduled Monument Consent, and must have caused considerable damage to archaeological deposits. In the light of recent cases, (Stansted Castle and Coggeshall Abbey) where the HBMCchose not to seek a prosecution, there is considerable consern in the County that this blatant violation of the monument will be allowed to pass unremarked. There are proposals to increase the schedule giving protection to more sites nationally, but the Essex experience prompts one to wonder how effective this protection is if offences under the Act prompt little more than official reprimands. Peter Richards Essex County Council CLAYTILES Further to my letter in the last CONTEXT,I have received information about Aldershaw Tiles of Sedlescombe, Sussex; they make special bricks, hips, ridges and corner tiles for renovation work, using local and imported clays. Angle tiles -£2.60 each+ VAT Hips & ridges -£2.42 each+ VAT Imperial bricks -£400 per thousand+ VAT (discount available for prompt payment) Contact: Beverley Blunden Aldershaw Tiles Kent Street Sedlescombe Battle Sussex TN33 OSD (telephone: 0424 754192) Some specials made by Keymers are being tried on the Black Hostelry at Ely, but the mix still contains a high proportion of reds. The search for a good new buff clay tile continues. Goxhill may be considering making a buff pantile; now is the time to encourage them! Further information on local tileries will be much appreciated, either directly in CONTEXTor via me; how about some English Heritage involvement in assessing demand and stimulating new production? John Preston (ACO East Anglia Rep) c/o Directorate of Planning & Research) Cambridgeshire County Council Shire Hall Castle Hill ~AMBRIDGE (Tel: 0223 317616} Page 13
ARCHITECTURAL CERAMICS BY NEWCASTLE CERAMIC DESIGN Newcastle Ceramic Design Company developed from a project to design, make and lay hand-made ceramic floor tiles for the floors in Newcastle Arts Centre. The floor tiles are made by hand, in wooden moulds, in the traditional way; thus giving them all the individual qulaities of hand-crafting lost in industrial mass-produced tiles. They are fired by gas and wood in a slightly reducung kiln atmosphere, which brings out the full range of rich natural colours from the clay. Designs on the tiles are applied in several different ways, some of which are as follows: hand -cut to a depth of 1/4", filled with a white clay and scrape~ flat - the way mediaeval encaustic tiles were made; or with an impressed pattern with a clay or wood stamp -the impressions are either left as they are, or filled with coloured clays or glaze. The shapes, sizes and pattern combinations of the tiles are being added to all the time; the influences are English mediaeval, classical and Islamic. Owing to the batch production methods, it is possible to design and produce distinctive tiles for specific areas, no matter how small; restoration work on Victorian or mediaeval floors can also be carried out. The Company works by commission alone, and will undertake commissions from architects and domestic clients to design and make ceramic elemepts for new buildings. Replicas can also be made where original features h~ve been lost or damaged. Glazed ridge tiles have been made for a building in Newcastle; and roof tiles for a church where the builder was faced with a choice of replacing a hundred tiles to match the existing, or replacing the entire roof. Larger ceramic companies could not make and supply these specific tiles in such small quantities. Geometric floor tiles were made for St John the Baptist Church in Newcastle to match the existing tiles, so that an area which had been replaced by red-painted concrete following plumbing repairs could be re-laid to continue the design and eradicate the scar. For information, contact Dave Fry or Charlie Allen at Newcastle Arts Centre 73 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne; tel. 610293 or 615999. Unlisted Lutyens Charles Wagner, who was formerly carrying out the listing re-survey for Hampshire, is now carrying out a ' survey for the Lutyens Trust. This survey will endeavor to make sure that every structure designed by Lutyens, surviving in anything like its original state, is listed; and that the better examples are given the appropriate grading. The Trust believes that up to a third more items by Lutyens are undiscovered, and need to be identified and added to the known number. Charles Wagner would welcome any correspondence from members of ACO who think they may have discovered a building which has a Lutyens connection, or feel that Lutyens items within their area have not been appropriately graded or described in the lists. His address is: 9, Bevan House, Boswell St., London WClN 3BT. j L, ( ~~ .... J --- The Hut Pagel4
I i Kenneth Baker: in correspondence with ACO CONSERVATIONI THE METROPOLITANAREAS Mike Pear.ce has been in correspondence with the Secretary of State to ask what provision is to be made for the continuation of conservation advice in the areas of the Metroplolitan counties after they have been abolished. The first reply dealtwith the question of archaeological advice, the second reads as follows: "The contribution that Conservation Officers make to the improvements of our townscapes and landscapes is vital indeed and I certainly hope to see that their experience and expertise continues to be available to the Borough C9uncils and District Councils after the abolition of the upper tier of local government in London and the Metropolitan areas. There is no reason why this should not be be so. The Local Government Act 1985 gives the statutory parameters within which the Boroughs and Districts can join together to ensure that services which are at present county-based, but which are used by all of the Boroughs or ~ CIVIC TRUST ENVIRONMENT WEEK May 3-11 1986 For everyone to join in improving their surroundings. Enjoy local events including exhibitions, guided walks, fairs, garden competitions, visits, practical projects, clean sweeps, nature trails, tree planting. All run by local amenity societies; It's a nationwideevent for all ages. Call 01-930 0914 for the address of your nearest local amenity society, or write to Civic Trust, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SWlY SAW. districts, continue to be available to them. The machinery for ensuring this is the Co-ordinating Committee which now exists in each of the Metropolitan Areas and in London. This Committee has the important function of ensuring that joint services continue to be provided and that the personnel involved are found the most appropriate new base from which to work. I readily appreciate that there have been a lot of difficulties in getting the the Borough and Districts to face up to the realities of abolition and so get round the table to talk about the future. However, I know that they are now beginning to co-operate and make arrangements for the continued provision of joint services. You might find it reassuring to establish contact with the Co-ordinating Committees and emphasise the need to ensure that conservation services are properly safeguarded." We should be glad to hear from our members in the Metropolitan Areas with news of how these arrangements are working out in practice! .Bagel5
REGIONAL NEWS East of England A group of 15 members assembled in Ipswich in late October, at the Malt Kiln pub adjoining the Victorian West Dock. The dock was constructed circa 1846, during the town's boom period of industrial and commercial activity. The Malt Kiln provides a good example of sympathetic conversion and new use for a redundant maltings. Hopefully it will pave the way for regeneration of the dock area, which has enormous potential for new and exciting uses and development. With John Field and Rob Kindred from Ipswich Borough Council, we moved on to the Isaac Lords Warehouse, a Grade II* timber framed complex The timber framed enthusiasts were thwarted by lack of time from analysing the structure, but Dave Stenning made a return visit. A copy of his report, together with a reconstruction sketch, accompanies this report. The building requires extensive repair, and new ususes are being sought. The walk continued with inspection of Town Scheme restoration/repairs, various conservation area infill schemes, and the town's interesting 'over the shop' grant scheme. This aims to encourage convers1on of vacant upper floors of historic buildings_ in the central area into residential use. Since its conception in December 1984, grantaided projects have created 16 units of accommodation, maintaining low-cost residential use in and around the central area, and also ensuring the economic viability and good repair of historic buildings. For more information on this scheme, c__cmtact Bob Kindred at Ipswich Borough (Tel: Ipswich 211511 Ext 381). There followed a preliminary viewing of the extensive restoration works close to completion at the Ancient House. A particularly i~teresting structure, the building is probably most famous for its Pagel6 extremely decorative pargetting. It was purchased by the Borough Council for £25,000, and £750,000 has been spent on the restoration, assisted by large financial input from the HBMC. The building is now open as a bookshop, and is well worth a visit if you are in the area. W finished our visit in semi-darkness at Pykenhams Gateway, built as a gatehouse by William Pykenham, Archdeacon of Suffolk c. 1470, and restored by the Ipswich Building Preservation Trust in 1983. Thanks to John Field and Bob Kindred for organising such a worthwhile tour. John Davey ISAACLORDWAREHOUSES,FORE ST., IPSWICH This complex of quayside industrial buildings is ·.a remarkable survivor, bearing in mind the extensive 19th century development of the area. The structures of most interest are a 17th century frontage house with carriage arch and an 'L' shaped complex of Tudor warehousing behind, shown on the drawing. The latter is of two phases with a two storey crown post roofed building of c. 1500, and a three storey block at right angles, with side purlin roof probably of the mid 16th century. Both structures have brick nogging infill and solid brick ground floors which.are probably original in part, if not in whole. The later three storey building is structurally the more complete, with an interior reminiscent of a late guildhall although less elaborately decorated. It features remnants of oriel window, windows with moulded cills, and superimposed doorways with hints of a canopy or loading hoist. The complex suggests something a little more than simple storage, and one would expect a subtle mingling of residential/community and warehousing spaces, as with other commercial properties of the era.
1500---->t 1540~ Isaac Lord Warehouse Northern Region YARMANDSTOCKTON 31ST OCTOBER1985 The meeting started in Yarm, with a tour of recent conservation projects in this historic town conducted by members of the Cleveland County Conservation Team. Yarm is one of 50 towns in the country identified by the Council for British Archaeology as being of special interest. One of its many attractive features is the survival of the long narrow burgage plots and their associated buildings groups and narrow 'wynds'. These building groups were neglected for many years and in some instances regarded as being sub-standard and unfit for human habitation; but they are gradually being brought back into use, mainly for residential purposes. One former granary is presently being converted to offices for a local architects practice, Elder Lester and Partners. The overall planning policy has been to concentrate commercial development in the central part of the town, in order to reserve the northern and southern ends for residential use. Ther~;have~beeac. some problems with development control, but also some successes, notably in co-operative working arrangements with the District Council Building Inspectorate. Two Ci"vic Trust Award winning schemes of different periods provided a poignant contrast; Barclays Bank, essentially a new facade development of 1970, and a housing refurbishment scheme completed in 1985 in a wynd off the east side of the street. After this we visited the Green Dragon Yard scheme in Stockton, which comprises the only remaining portion of this historic town centre unaffected by redevelopment or extensive restoration. The area includes a former Georgian theatre, now a theatre museum, shops, a pub, and an art gallery. Unfortunately the weather conditions on this visit were atrocious; and consequent~ ly we alas suffered from bad light. It was therefore agreed to re-stage this visit next summer, and make it a oneday event, as there is some very interesting work to be seen. A meeting was held after the tour at the Green Dragon Inn to discuss future events. The question of a local conference in 1986 was raised again; if we are going to organise a conference we will need volunteers to assist, and suggestions for topics, venues, etc. Peter Rogers from Cleveland also mentioned that the Cleveland Building Preservation Trust were examining the possibility of restoring Hart Windmill, a prominent local feature on the outskirts of Hartlepool. It was suggested that a contact with Tyne and Wear Industrial Monuments Trust might be useful as they are engaged on the restoration of Fulwell Mill at Sunderland. Pagel?
London Region In-,June, Peter Burman, Secretary to the Council for the Care of Churches, addressed .a group of members and invited interlopers on 'Critical Problems in the Care of Churches'. Peter kept his audience agreeably amused throughout his journey through recent cases, the current state of ecclesiastical exempt ion, legal and grant aid matters and the work of the Council. Following a summer break, an experiment with daytime visits took a small group to English Heritage's Stone Carvers Studio in Vauxhall in September. Mr Simmonds, on eof the principal stone carvers, gave us a guided tour of the workshops and explained the current range of work being carried out. This included the carving of new statues for the Palace of Westminster, restoration and piecing-in of repairs to the capitals at Apsley House, and cleaning of internal statuary. In October, English Heritage's Metal Workshop in Regent's Park played host to a large group of ACO officers. Apart from Mr Rolt's evident enthusiasm for his craft, our day was made when 'hands-on' experience extended to several members attempting to hand-~orge spirals in beaten metal. Did you know that one of the best materials for replicating Tijon beaten leaves is discarded utility office filing cabinets?! Our grateful thnks have to be extended to our speakers and hosts for all these meetings, and to the GLC Historic Buildings Division for allowing us to use their lecture room. London based members will be notified in due course regarding 1986 meetings. It is hoped that we will have talks on historic buildings legislation and procedures, and on tourism, statistics, and heritage. Rosemarie MacQueen ACOLondon Representative Southern Region THE CONSERVATION OF BRICK AND STONE BUILDINGS The Southern Region is alive and well and will hold its first annual conference on Saturday 22 February 1986 at the Town Hall, Wokingham, Berkshire. This one day conference will cover a variety of topics including techniques for the cleaning and repainting of brick and stone buildings, with appropriate case study material. Speakers include John Ashurst (HBMC), Gilbert Williams (SPAB) and John Fidler (HBMC). The meeting will be chaired by Mike Pearce. Members of the Southern Branch are invited to attend a short branch meeting following the conference. Application forms and further details may be obtained from Chris Brett or Ian Tant on 0734 786833 Exts 357 and 399. Members'Forum (cont'd) SEASIDE ARCHITECTURE I would appreciate hearing from any members experiencing difficilties .. in getting examples of domestic seaside architecture listed. In particulaE, if you have faced problems convincing Listing Investigators of the merits of either group value small scale domestic buildings, or large detached villas of the late Victorian or Edwardian period, (1880 - 1910) please contact me by letters marked 'Personal' to: R.J. Kindred, Dept of Development Services Ipswich Borough Council Civic Centre IPSWICH IP! 2EE tel: 0473 211211 ext 381 Pagel8
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