Context 158 - March 2019

www.ihbc.org.uk @IHBCtweet Registered as a charity in England and Wales number 1061593 and in Scotland number SC041945. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England number 3333780. Registered Office: Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA Officers President David McDonald, president@ihbc.org.uk Chair James Caird, chair@ihbc.org.uk Vice Chair Kathryn Davies, vchair@ihbc.org.uk Secretary Jo Evans, ihbcsecretary@ihbc.org.uk Treasurer Jill Kerry, treasurer@ihbc.org.uk National Office Director Seán O’Reilly, director@ihbc.org.uk Operations Director Fiona Newton, operations@ihbc.org.uk Consultations Coordinator consultations@ihbc.org.uk Membership Services Officer Carmen Moran, membershipservices@ihbc.org.uk LETS Officer Kate Kendall, lets@ihbc.org.uk Branch & Events Support Officer Carla Pianese, support@ihbc.org.uk Administration Officer Lydia Porter, admin@ihbc.org.uk Committee Chairs Policy Roy Lewis, policy@ihbc.org.uk Membership & Ethics David Kincaid, membership@ihbc.org.uk Finance & Resources Jill Kerry, resources@ihbc.org.uk Education Andrew Shepherd, education@ihbc.org.uk Communications & Outreach Dave Chetwyn, communications@ihbc.org.uk Branch Officers North vacant NorthWest Crispin Edwards, 07768 502363 Yorkshire Matthew Bentley, 0113 247 8145 West Midlands vacant East Midlands RosemaryThompson, eastmidlands@ihbc.org.uk South Alison Davidson, south@ihbc.org.uk SouthWest vacant East Anglia vacant South East Sanne Roberts, southeast@ihbc.org.uk London Sheila Stones, 01223 582716 Scotland Paul Zochowski, 01620 827264 Wales John Edwards, 07796 440934 Northern Ireland Ken Moore, northernireland@ihbc.org.uk Republic of Ireland Cormac O’Sullivan, 00353 5677 62907 No158March2019 InstituteofHistoricBuildingConservation Highlands and Islands NewarchitectureofScotland’swest coast Re-thatchingaHebrideanblackhouse Orkneygables ina changing climate Lord Leverhulme’sexperiment Cover: The White House on the Isle of Coll, including the consolidated ruin of an 18th-century house, is an example of some excellent new architecture in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, much of it inspired by vernacular forms. See page 37 (Photo: Eoin Carey Photography) C O N T E X T 1 5 8 : M A R C H 2 0 1 9 1 2 Briefing 5 Out of Context 6 Letters 7 The writer’s voice 8 Conferences 9 Obituary: Richard Dean 10 Periodically 15 Immersed, charmed and inspired on conservation’s front line Tom Hunter 18 Taking the breath away Cliff Hague 22 Celebrating these pinnacles of prehistoric building Kenneth McElroy 25 Lord Leverhulme’s Hebridean experiment Susan Rab é 29 Re-thatching a Hebridean blackhouse Matthew Withey 31 Orkney gables in a changing climate Jessica Hunnisett 34 Engaging communities in our Highlands and Islands Dawn McDowell 37 New architecture of Scotland’s west coast Fiona Newton 40 In search of Highland manses Andrew Millar 41 The cost and the value of heritage Steven Tolson 45 Out of the mists and myths of the past Jane Houlton 48 Bring on the conservation team Roger Evans 50 Architecturally speaking Nick Corbett 53 Community matters Heather Alcock and Lizzie Heywood 56 Notes from the chair 58 Director’s cut 60 New member profile: Louise Priestman 61 Book reviews 64 Vox pop: Euan Leitch 65 Products and services 68 Advertisers index 69 New members