C O N T E X T 1 3 2 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 11 carrying out the work through to completion, plus fees. It happened that while I was considering the situation, the DAC asked me to look at another high retaining wall, sadly not of good construction, that had partially collapsed. Because of the urgency, work had started in repairing the wall without the necessary approvals from the DAC. Expecting problems, I inspected the situation and found that two bricklayers/stonemasons from a small company in Kent, called Etchinghill Arts, had inspected the wall.They stood back and looked at it sensibly and, before my arrival, stabilised the base of the wall with well-thought-out proposals. I asked them how they were intending to complete the work. They had thought it through logically, and I greatly admired their workmanship and attitude. I subsequently agreed that the work was perfectly satisfactory, and it received DAC approval. My thoughts of course went to the proposals for the flying buttresses for the wall before me, and I decided I would ask these two young bricklayers/stonemasons to come and look at the wall with me.Without question they agreed that the wall could be repaired. They explained to me how they thought it should be done, which was exactly in line with my own thoughts. As always, there was continuous communication between the contractors and me, and there was also a question of trust between the contractors and the PCC. I explained to the PCC that we would not know the likely final cost until we actually started work, but it would certainly be very much less than the proposals for the more sophisticated scheme. I put forward my ideas to the DAC. Because there was effectively a conflict of interests in my acting for the DAC and also the church, where I had been brought only in as an adviser, I accepted a nominal fee for seeing the work through to completion. The proposals were instigated only after much discussion within the Morton Partnership, and with the arboriculturist and the two stonemasons, Mark and Keith, who were instrumental in completing the work to everyone’s satisfaction at a cost of a little over £5,000. I am absolutely satisfied that we have given the wall a greatly extended life, as long as it is properly maintained in the future. My experience suggests that many freestanding walls are removed unnecessarily when quite simple consideration of the form of construction and type of cracking related to its age could lead to many more walls being retained. If the wall under consideration has some length and there are only a few significant vertical cracks, simple repairs can be carried out by experienced workmen under proper professional supervision. Brian Morton MBE is a consultant to the Morton Partnership, founded in 1966. TCS_IHBC Advert_23-06-11 [outlined].indd 1 23/06/2011 15:49:02 Award-winning architects giving old buildings a new future Civic Trust Award Community Recognition IHBC North West Award for Conservation RICS National Building Conservation Award Purcell. Thoughtfully designed evolution. www.purcelluk.com
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