10 CONTEXT 178 : DECEMBER 2023 ALEXANDRA FAIRCLOUGH Understanding vernacular architecture Many of them having survived for hundreds of years, and with close links to our varied landscape, our rural vernacular buildings must be understood if they are to be conserved. The rich and varied geological heritage of the UK is the foundation of the stunning rural landscape and the traditional buildings we see today. Our rural vernacular buildings have survived for hundreds of years, whereas many old, traditional buildings in towns and cities have been lost due to urbanisation. Buildings were still being traditionally built until as late as the 19th century, until a time when transport and mechanisation allowed for the economic and efficient movement of materials, and technology allowed for the standardisation of construction resulting in a common form of building. Vernacular architecture can be described as buildings that reflect local traditions using locally available materials such as earth, timber, stone or brick, built for the ordinary person. These buildings vary according to the use of the building, the geology, topography and climate of the region in which they are built, and social, technological and construction concepts. The result is a very varied architecture, even within the same locality, which contributes positively to the character of the countryside in terms of local distinctiveness by appearance, layout, construction methods and materials, and use. In the past, the generally smaller, simpler, less showy buildings were not understood or appreciated. As early as 1857, the architect George Gilbert Scott described such architecture as ‘spontaneous productions of our builders, where no external influence is brought to bear on them’. He is said to have been the first to refer to such buildings as ‘vernacular’.1 He wrote that he wanted to call attention to the meanness of our vernacular architecture, referring to ‘architecture concerned with ordinary domestic and functional buildings, rather than essentially monumental’. The writer, social commentator, and critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) raised the level of interest in our vernacular heritage as a response to the mechanised processes of construction during the 19th century. He inspired the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (1877), the National Trust (1895) and the arts and crafts movement to return to craftsmanship through materials and traditional methods. It was not until the 1950s, when the Vernacular Architecture Group in England was founded, that the term vernacular became fixed when referring to buildings constructed by local tradesmen using local materials and building traditions. The group formalised the previously ad hoc study, categorisation and recording of buildings of the UK. During this time, the art and architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner (1902–1983) was 1 Scott, GG (1857) Remarks on Secular and Domestic Architecture A granary at the Weald and Downland Museum (Photo: Alexandra Fairclough)
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