60 C O N T E X T 1 7 3 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 of resilience and liberation teach us much about the struggles of the past, and how to create a more humane and inclusive society in the future. Peter de Figueiredo, reviews editor of Context Endearing simplicity Quakers and their Meeting Houses Chris Skidmore, Historic England/ Liverpool University Press, 2021, 163 pages, 28 black and white and 188 colour illustrations, ISBN 978 1 800857 20 9, £40 We cherish Quaker meeting houses as ‘buildings of endearing simplicity’, for their social history or spiritual significance, or for architecture reflecting contemporary trends. Under threat as Quaker membership declines, we need to understand these buildings to inform conservation and decisions about disposal and change. In 1999, David Butler’s twovolume gazetteer, Quaker Meeting Houses in Britain, was published, recording over 800 places ‘for which there is evidence of a Quaker meeting’. Between 2014 and 2016, the Quaker Meeting Houses Heritage Project, funded by Historic England and the Quakers, studied 345 meeting houses owned by Quakers and still in use in Britain (excluding Northern Ireland). Chris Skidmore, a member of Skipton Quaker Meeting and editor at the Chapels Society, has written a book that provides valuable synthesis of this study, brought up to date with recent meeting houses; Hammersmith opened in 2020. With a useful introduction on the history of Quakers, the book provides excellent summaries of the role of George Fox and early Quaker evangelism, state persecution and toleration, Quaker beliefs, how meetings and the Society of Friends were (and are) organised, including the role of women.The book is arranged chronologically, illustrated with examples of meeting houses and ancillary buildings such as stables and (a new one for me) temporary meeting ‘booths’. Quaker meeting houses in America are also referred to, along with outdoor meeting places, burial grounds and Friends House, London.The final chapter is a discussion of Quaker architecture and meeting house fittings, with some personal observations from the author. Is there a defined Quaker style? 17th- and 18th-century meeting houses were fairly consistent in their planning and aesthetics (with regional variations), but once architects were involved, architectural diversity increased and diluted earlier distinctiveness. The book is not a gazetteer of meeting houses, so David Butler’s books, which include a plan of every building, are still essential. For more detailed information on meeting houses, the 2014–2017 reports compiled by AHP with input from Quaker volunteers are available online at heritage.quaker.org.uk. Skidmore’s book includes a gazetteer of listed meeting houses, but this is not comprehensive; it includes all Grade I and II* buildings, but only Grade II listed buildings referred to in the text, along with some former meeting houses, such as Cartmel Height, now a dwelling. In 2019 11 meeting houses were newly listed at Grade II and six were upgraded to Grade II* or Grade I. Generously illustrated, well produced and written in an accessible style, the book is a pleasure to read.There is a useful glossary of architectural and Quaker terms. A few more plans, particularly to illustrate early meeting houses such as Brigflatts, would have been useful, but plans can be found elsewhere. Marion Barter, a buildings historian, led the Quaker Meeting Houses Heritage Project while at AHP. Competing pressures Conserving the Historic Environment John Pendlebury and Jules Brown, Lund Humphries, 2021, 160 pages, 48 blackand-white photographs and illustrations, ISBN 978 1 848222 99 1, £29.95 Conserving the Historic Environment is one of a series of 13 Concise Guides to Planning, including other such related specialist areas as The Urban Design Process, Green Infrastructure and Healthy Cities. Despite the use of the term ‘concise’ in the series strapline and the pocket-size (A5) of the printed book, this volume packs a vast amount of relevant and mostly objective information about many aspects of the topic. Its limited size and relatively broad target audience prevent it from providing the full chapter and verse on heritagerelated issues, in the way that Charles Mynors’ Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments does on conservation law. Even so, it certainly provides a more-thandecent introduction to philosophy, policy and practice in the profession of conserving the historic environment, in a well-structured and logical sequence. To compensate for the selective detail, the book helpfully suggests further reading on each chapter. To enable a rapid read for those with limited time or timespan of attention, each chapter has a concise summary.The book would therefore be a valuable starting reference for non-specialist planners, other related professions, students and any member of the public who might be trying to grasp an understanding of decision-making, or indeed to influence the (sometimes
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