CONTEXT 178 : DECEMBER 2023 3 Europe,’ Drėmaitė says. ‘If you want to discover what happened in the countries that emerged from the grip of empires between the two world wars, come to Kaunas.’ Drėmaitė sees the expansion of tourism as one of the most important economic benefits of inscription. ‘Many countries compete and seek to be included on this list with the aim of promoting cultural tourism,’ she says. ‘The way to receive indirect funds has also been opened up, through the organisation of conferences, restoration and conservation.’ Funding for Malton The Grade II* Wesley Centre in the market town of Malton, North Yorkshire, has received £370,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, a part of the government’s levelling-up programme. The restoration and re-ordering of the building will include a flexible 600-seat auditorium. Remaining a place of worship, as it has been continually since 1811, the Wesley Centre is planned to serve a range of social needs, and to be a major centre for the classical arts and for community recreational use. The building had been at risk of demolition after the discovery of a significant structural problem with its roof in 2015. Work has been undertaken to restore the roof, a connected office building and the main interior of the original building. The Wesley Centre is a rare surviving Methodist church of its era, being one of 13 designed by the architect William Jenkins, who worked with the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. Of the four remaining today, Malton’s building is the oldest. Roman backdrop A frons scenae was installed for a period in the summer in Shakespeare North Playhouse’s Cockpit Theatre in Prescot, Lancashire, primarily based on that at Palladio’s Teatro Olympico in Vicenza. The term, deriving from ancient Roman theatre architecture, refers to the grand backdrop that frames the stage, encompassing the stage itself and the surrounding architectural elements. The only other frons scenae in the UK is in the Sam Wannamaker Playhouse in Shakespeare’s Globe. Photogrammetry at Crystal Palace New interactive 3D scans of the 29 surviving Victorian sculptures in Crystal Palace Park, south London, have been launched by Historic England, in collaboration with the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. The dimensionally accurate photogrammetric models have been created from multiple digital scans of the famous Grade I listed beasts. People can now get up close without damaging the vulnerable sculptures. The models will also allow conservators to plan for their maintenance. The sculptures were created in 1853–1855 by artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins as part of the The Wesley Centre, a rare surviving Methodist church of its era (Photo: Guzelian Photos) Shakespeare North Playhouse’s frons scenae (Photo: Andrew P Brooks) original design of Crystal Palace Park. The park was laid out to plans by Joseph Paxton. Contrary to popular belief, only four of the sculpted animals are technically dinosaurs. The collection includes ancient mammals and amphibians which are also now extinct, and marine and flying reptiles. A 3D scan of one of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs (Image: Historic England) Domestic retrofit guidance John Preston writes: 2023 updates of the government’s domestic Retrofit Guidance PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 have been published and are now at last free to download, with a white paper setting out the background, at www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/ standards/pas-2035-2030. Good news is that PAS 2035 now has a clear path for traditional and protected buildings, requires additional qualifications for them, and includes Guidance for the Assessment of Traditional Buildings at Annexe E.
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