8 CONTEXT 175 : MARCH 2023 reconstruction, recreation and replication, based on the 2000 Riga Charter on Authenticity and a discussion on what the options for the National Trust’s approach might be. The article sets out the group’s views, which will be particularly valuable for anyone thinking through the procedures for dealing with catastrophic damage after fire. In recent issues of this column I have praised the coverage of specific architectural features drawn from the Brooking Museum of Architectural Detail, and how this might inform professionals regarding construction techniques and dating evidence of architectural features. The latest issue discusses the form and construction of Georgian fanlights. It is well illustrated and will be a useful primer for those needing to date these delicate, characterful and fascinating architectural features with greater accuracy. Heritage Now As readers should know by now, Historic Buildings & Places campaigns for buildings of all types and periods. The latest issue of its magazine, Heritage Now (03/2022) exhibits these wide-ranging interests and includes a feature on the architectural practice of the late John Sealy and Paul Padget. For nearly 50 years their aim was to marry, in their words, an ‘appreciation for the past’ with an ‘enthusiasm for the present’. This lasted until around 1970, when the practice ceased. The forthcoming centenary of their practice offers an opportunity by Peter Forsaith of Oxford Brookes University to provide an insightful appreciation of their work, particularly the churches designed in the 1950s. Elsewhere, Laurence Greenall describes the ingenuity of the vicar of Waltham Abbey Church in saving it from collapse in the 1960s. The comment column poses the pertinent question: whatever happened to heritage champions? This was worthy concept developed in the early 2000s but has since been allowed to wither away. Are such appointments worth reviving? SPAB Magazine The understanding of appropriate crafts skill and the intricacies of sensitive repair and adaptation feature prominently in the SPAB Magazine (Winter 2022). Although not necessarily defined as case studies, the approach to sound techniques repays close attention to inform good practice among heritage professionals. Whether or not it is appropriately applied, SPAB’s philosophy of repair is, or should be, well understood. How this is implemented in practice on a range of building types, styles and materials is always informative. Readers will find the case examples in the magazine instructive in coming to views about how works should be properly undertaken. This is reflected, for example, in an article by Lawrence Kelly and Michael O’Reilly, explaining the intricate processes of decisionmaking and recent repair to the gable end of the Old Post Office, a thatched Grade II cottage in South Oxfordshire. It can also be seen where Matthew Slocombe discusses the vital role that the SPAB played in securing the future of Shute Barton, a Plantagenet manor house in the 1950s, when needing significant repairs and new ownership. This overall philosophy of approach is also evident in the society’s response to statutory casework and descriptions of repair work undertaken by its practical working parties in this issue. Construction History Those with an interest in the history of construction, or aiming to understand the relative significance of historic building components, may be interested in a paper by David Yeomans in the latest issue of Construction History, the International Journal of the Construction History Society (Vol 37, No 2, 2022). Entitled ‘Who designed the king HERITAGE NOW The Magazine of Historic Buildings & Places | www.hbap.org.uk (03/2022) AUTUMN 2022
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