Context 159 - May 2019

48 C O N T E X T 1 5 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 9 How should we prioritise conservation efforts in a complex designed landscape? Is there ever a case for prioritising the repair of many hundreds of metres of ‘plain’ walling over repairs to a principal building? Probably not, but equally it would be remiss to treat a boundary wall as unimportant, a ha-ha as a ditch to be filled in, an avenue as a suitable fairway for a golf course, a shelterbelt as a densely vegetated area suitable for hiding new housing, a walled garden as a car park, or a cemetery as a recreation area (if only all the headstones were removed). Sadly, all these examples have some foundation in reality. It is also all too easy to underestimate the costs of repairs and conservation work without first gaining a proper understanding of significance, construction and materials. And how often do we find that the apparently simple structure is in fact complex and extraordinary? Historic designed landscapes are a finite and unfortunately diminishing resource. Beyond the total destruction of a designed landscape – of which there are sadly still too many examples – the steady erosion of the component parts of even those that are designated heritage assets is often the result of a lack of understanding of significance, failure to prioritise repairs and restoration, development pressures, and occasionally the An apparently plain brick garden wall. Closer inspection reveals a complex pattern of bonding relating to its former function as the rear wall to a glasshouse. A typical scene in a neglected cemetery landscape The boathouse at Crewe Hall, Cheshire. Lost behind hedges and within a poplar plantation, it was once the focal point of a formal parterre garden by WA Nesfield. The statue of Neptune is listed Grade II, but the structure it stands on has no formal protection.