Hadrian’s Wall What happened to the stones? Cumbria’s vernacular architecture Renovating Union Chain Bridge Bastles on the border No 179 March 2024 Institute of Historic Building Conservation
We are the original red brick liverpool.ac.uk Find out more at liverpool.ac.uk/sustainable-heritage-management-ma This programme will challenge you to think about the meanings of heritage and frame sustainable heritage management in its architectural, urban, social, political, scientific and economic contexts. The programme is developed and taught by leading heritage academics and practitioners, the interests of whom are extremely diverse and encompass heritage studies and management at all levels and in different regions. The programme outlines a clear career path, offering multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and practice, and facilitating placement opportunities at diverse institutes and locations. For more information about the course, please contact our course director, Dr. Ataa Alsalloum, at Ataa2@liverpool.ac.uk. The programme is fully recognised by the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC). Available part-time and full-time. Apply now for September 2024. School of Architecture MA SUSTAINABLE HERITAGE MANAGEMENT
CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 1 www.ihbc.org.uk @IHBCtweet Registered as a charity in England and Wales number 1061593 and in Scotland number SC041945. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England number 3333780. Registered Office: Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA Officers President Mike Brown, president@ihbc.org.uk Vice President Rebecca Thompson, vicepresident@ihbc.org.uk Chair David McDonald, chair@ihbc.org.uk Vice Chair Lone Le Vay, vchair@ihbc.org.uk Secretary Jo Evans, ihbcsecretary@ihbc.org.uk Treasurer Jill Kerry, treasurer@ihbc.org.uk National Office Director Seán O’Reilly, director@ihbc.org.uk Operations Director Fiona Newton, operations@ihbc.org.uk, consultations@ihbc.org.uk Administration Officer Lydia Porter, admin@ihbc.org.uk Branch Liaison &Volunteer Support Officer Jude Wheeler, support@ihbc.org.uk Education,Training & Application Support Officer Angharad Hart, training@ihbc.org.uk Membership Services Officer Carmen Moran, membershipservices@ihbc.org.uk Professional Development Officer Ramona Usher, professional@ihbc.org.uk Professional Services Officer Michael Netter, services@ihbc.org.uk Committee Chairs Policy Roy Lewis, policy@ihbc.org.uk Membership & Ethics Andrew Shepherd, membership@ihbc.org.uk Education Chris Wood, education@ihbc.org.uk Communications & Outreach Dave Chetwyn, communications@ihbc.org.uk Branch Contacts North north@ihbc.org.uk North West northwest@ihbc.org.uk Yorkshire yorkshire@ihbc.org.uk West Midlands westmids@ihbc.org.uk East Midlands eastmids@ihbc.org.uk South south@ihbc.org.uk South West southwest@ihbc.org.uk East Anglia eastanglia@ihbc.org.uk South East southeast@ihbc.org.uk London london@ihbc.org.uk Scotland scotland@ihbc.org.uk Wales wales@ihbc.org.uk Northern Ireland northernireland@ihbc.org.uk Republic of Ireland republicofireland@ihbc.org.uk Rest of the World overseas@ihbc.org.uk 2 Briefing 6 IHBC London Branch Conference 2023 8 Letters 10 Periodically 13 The writer’s voice 15 Editorial 16 Hadrian’s Wall from end to end Zinnie Denby-Mann 19 Hadrian’s Wall Path and the national trails Polly Martin 22 What happened to Hadrian’s Wall? Alexandra Fairclough 24 Cumbria’s vernacular architecture and the Roman wall Peter Messenger 27 Discovering bastles Peter Ryder 30 Regeneration in Carlisle Roger Higgins 33 Union Chain Bridge: crossing the border Mark Douglas 37 Nairn’s Manchester revisited Ian Wray 40 The battle for Mill Road Free Library John Preston 43 Legal update 46 New member profile 47 Notes from the chair 48 Inter alia 49 Director’s cut 51 Vox pop 52 New members 53 Book reviews 57 Products and services 60 Specialist suppliers index
Editor Rob Cowan Editorial Coordinator Michael Taylor, ihbceditorialboard@gmail.com Editorial Board Nigel Crowe Aimée Felton Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Rebecca Madgin Duncan McCallum Fiona Newton Jonathan Taylor Michael Taylor (chair) Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2023 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA 01747 871717 context@cathcomm.co.uk www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to corporate bodies at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £60.00 Elsewhere £90.00 Context on-line archive Past issues of Context can be viewed on the IHBC website. The archive provides a searchable database and reference for key articles. See www.ihbc.org.uk/page55/context_archive. The views expressed in Context are not necessarily held by the IHBC or the publisher. Neither the publisher nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this issue of Context is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. Context themes and copy deadlines Context is published four times a year in March, June, September and December. The next three themes and copy deadlines are: Built and natural environment interface, June, issue 180 (12 April) Urban housing, September, issue 181 (12 July) Heating and ventilation, December, issue 182 (11 October) Please contact Michael Taylor at ihbceditorialboard@gmail.com to discuss any editorial submissions or for information about the Context editorial board. 2 CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 Briefing Hadrian’s Wall What happened to the stones? Cumbria’s vernacular architecture Renovating Union Chain Bridge Bastles on the border No 179 March 2024 Institute of Historic Building Conservation Cover: An artwork in Carlisle by the artist Smug features the Celtic god Belatucadros, whom the Romans adopted, and a Roman soldier – see page 15. (Photo by Zinnie Denby-Mann) Brighton Dome reopens Brighton Dome’s historic Grade I and Grade II listed Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre have reopened for live performances following a six-year refurbishment. The work is the first phase of a regeneration project by Brighton and Hove City Council, in partnership with Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival and Brighton and Hove Museums, to cement the Royal Pavilion Estate as a landmark destination for heritage and the arts. The refurbished spaces have been designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. The original wooden beams of the Corn Exchange’s timber frame have been repaired, strengthened and restored to designs by the building’s original architect, Brighton Dome: more extravagance by the Prince Regent (Photo: Andy Stagg)
CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 3 William Porden, in the early 1800s. The Studio Theatre’s original features, such as crenelated windows that mimic the character of the Royal Pavilion, have been conserved and its ceiling replaced with a new yet historically accurate version. Its exterior has been restored and repaired. The Grade I listed Concert Hall and Corn Exchange were originally commissioned in 1803 as a stable block and riding house to accompany the Prince Regent’s extravagant seaside palace, the Royal Pavilion. William Porden took inspiration from the Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque) in Delhi for the stable’s exterior, and the glass ceiling of the huge domed roof owed a debt to the Paris Corn Exchange. The dimensions of the riding house were equally ambitious, its 18-metre-wide single span timber roof remaining the largest in the country. The stables were used as a cavalry barracks until the interior was remodelled as a concert and assembly hall, and reopened in 1867. The riding house reopened in 1868 as a Corn Exchange. In 1934 and 1935, both the Concert Hall and Corn Exchange were refurbished by architect Robert Atkinson. The Concert Hall received a radical art-deco redesign, and the Corn Exchange was repurposed as a single, grand room for exhibitions and functions. Lord Leycester’s Brethren Repairs and renovations have been carried out at Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick, one of England’s best-preserved examples of medieval courtyard architecture. It has been home to military veterans known as the Brethren since Elizabethan times. The Master’s House and the medieval wall have opened to visitors, exhibition areas and an enlarged visitor centre have been created, and external repairs have been carried out to the almshouse that form the homes of the current Brethren. Donald Insall Associates was the architect. The Lord Leycester Hospital restored (Photos: Paul Miller)
4 CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 Single span at Smithfield The completion of the restoration of the dome roof of Smithfield’s Poultry Market marks a milestone in the transformation of the historic markets site into the relocated Museum of London. Full Metal Jacket was the copper roofing subcontractor and Equans the project’s main contractor. In 2016 an international design competition paved the way for the Museum of London’s relocation to the former Smithfield Markets. Designed by Stanton Williams and Asif Khan, working with conservation architect Julian Harrap, the project is recasting the late Victorian General Market and 1960s Poultry Market to create the museum. The restoration of the copper dome roof of the Poultry Market has been funded by the City of London Corporation. Designed in the early 1960s by architect TP Bennet and Son, with structural engineering by Ove Arup and Partners, the roof (measuring 70 by 40 metres internally) was the largest single-span concrete roof in Europe at the time of its construction. Smithfield Market, covering almost 10 acres in the City of London, was originally designed by city architect Sir Horace Jones and built in the 1860s, and later extended. Beckford’s Grotto William Beckford’s hidden Grotto Tunnel in Bath is publicly visible for the first time in more than 100 years. A team of archaeologists and building experts have uncovered the original steps and retaining walls. They found various historic objects, including clay pipes smoked by the stonemasons who built the grotto in the 1820s. It is believed that at some point after Beckford’s death, the end of the Grotto nearest Beckford’s Tower was filled in, leaving the other end open to become what appears to have been a rubbish dump for a nearby Victorian villa. Beckford’s wealth, gained through his involvement with the transatlantic slave trade, enabled him to devote much of his time to designing and curating his tower and pleasure gardens. Beckford’s Tower was due to open in March 2024, with the underground grotto accessible to visitors as part of the museum experience. Hadrian’s Wall and Stonehenge Kati and John Preston write: In 2022 we visited Hadrian’s Wall for the first time; last year we introduced our Ukrainian guest Natalya to Stonehenge. These experiences made us think hard about the vices, virtues and balances of even temporary modern interventions at historic sites. We saw Housesteads at the wall on a grey, atmospheric July day. It immediately gave us the feeling of how alien this bleak frontier must have seemed to the Roman soldiers stationed there. There is a magic to seeing ‘The Stones’ on the skyline of the Wiltshire landscape, The Poultry Market’s dome roof was the largest single-span concrete roof in Europe at the time of its construction. (Photo: Equans) The Grotto Tunnel at Beckford’s Tower
CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 5 but there was no magic as we approached Hadrian’s Wall from the Housesteads Visitor Centre. The skyline was dominated by a structure erected to celebrate the 1,900th anniversary of the wall, reproducing the form of the Northern Gatehouse and covered in what was claimed to be the artwork of local school children and community workshops. Except that it wasn’t. The children would barely recognise their work. Underneath the highly, garishly coloured and formulaic digitisation of their work they might just be able to identify what was once their own. Described by Kate Mavor, chief executive of English Heritage, as a ‘vibrant piece of art… and living history’, to our minds what was revealed resembled a grotesque piece of Japanese kitsch. The claim was that ‘as visitors can climb to the top, the installation opens up views of the ancient landscape, last seen by Roman soldiers 1,600 years ago’. No need. Those same views are seen from the wall itself. In a different place, near to the visitor centre, this same piece of art could have been something that children and visitors could have enjoyed and delighted in. Compare that with Stonehenge, where the enlightening, permanent installation of replica huts near the visitor centre is nowhere near the monument itself. Our Stonehenge visit in solstice week coincided with a druid ceremony at the stones. That was indeed a temporary experience that did enhance our appreciation. Security for historic buildings Stephen Armson-Smith writes: It is important that security measures designed into historic building projects match the risk, avoiding the expense of repairing damage resulting from crime and retrofitting a security measure after an incident. Secured by Design (SBD) is the official police security initiative, working to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to keep people and communities safe. SBD’s productbased accreditation scheme, the Police Preferred Specification, provides a recognised standard for all security products that can deter and reduce crime. Many hundreds of companies produce thousands of attack-resistant crime prevention products across 30 different crime categories, which have achieved Police Preferred Specification. The Secured by Design membership scheme recognises companies whose products have been awarded Police Preferred Specification status. To meet SBD’s high standards, all security products are required to meet or exceed the performance expectations documented within the relevant security standard for that type of product. The Police Preferred Product List has categories such as windows, doors, locks and fogging devices. Some of the products of SBD members, including secondary glazing, doors, locks, fencing and hostile-vehicle mitigation products, have been accepted by heritage professionals for some conservation areas and world heritage sites and on listed buildings. SBD is working to place a heritage marker on products on the list, making it easier to identify a security product that complies with the requirements for use in a heritage location; it will also provide a link to the company’s web page and to case studies of the products in use. With a heritage building, some matters may need to be considered that would not apply to a new build. The adaptation may need to be fully reversible; there may be questions of whether the surrounding structure is strong enough to hold the security product; the structure may fail before the security product does, resulting in it being difficult or impossible to repair to an acceptable standard; and the appearance of the product may have to take account of a historic setting. The Police Preferred Product List is intended as one of many tools to mitigate the risks of crime. Where a desired security application or product is not suitable for a specific heritage project, compromises can be made. For example, the layering of security in other areas may be increased to reduce the risk and to delay a potential criminal, increasing their risk of being caught in the act. A police designing out crime officer or other qualified security professional will be able to help, as may the conservation officer and Historic England. A conservation management plan can include security considerations. Stephen Armson-Smith, a former police officer, designing out crime officer and heritage crime consultant, is working with Secured by Design. The temporary installation at Hadrian’s Wall by artist Morag Myerscough (Photo: John Preston)
6 CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 IHBC London Branch Conference 2023 Heritage and gentrification: who wins, who loses? The IHBC London Branch conference made a welcome return to the Royal College of Physicians, Sir Denys Lasdun’s Grade I listed building, to discuss regeneration and communities. Charmaine Brown of the University of Greenwich noted Ruth Glass’s definition from 1964 of gentrification being the middle class displacing the working class. The social and cultural capital invested by Peckham’s Caribbean Windrush generation, for example, had been hidden under waves of later migrants and gentrification. The north Peckham estate regeneration of 1994–2004 saw families moved away, never to return. When the Bellenden Road regeneration of 1997–2007 rebranded the area as Bellenden Village, black businesses serving the local community were lost and undocumented. Regeneration may bring investment, cleaner, safer environments, new cultural space and trends such as charcoalgrey joinery paint. But it was Columbus-style colonisation, distanced from existing inhabitants, involving a transient middle class, increasing property prices and not investing in the community. Colin Thom of UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture noted that policy to restrict London’s growth and promote decentralisation saw shifts to new towns. The growth of service industries, tech and consumer booms and regrowth of the city centre followed later. Early gentrification was organic, led by owner occupiers. Young, middle-class professionals who valued diversity and period buildings as a cultural lifestyle were priced out of more established areas. In the 1970s and 80s, this led to rehabilitation of rundown buildings in fringe places – often enclaves independent from their surroundings and council estates, but with good public transport. First Georgian, then Victorian and Edwardian housing was cheap, restorable and had capacity for improvement. The process was reinforced by amenity groups, conservation areas and improvement grants. Workingclass renters were displaced to the suburbs but some remained in council housing, which stopped London becoming demographically homogenous. The subsequent phase was gentrification by design, developer- or state-initiated and led, such as at Canary Wharf and Isle of Dogs Enterprise Zone and Vauxhall Nine Elms Opportunity Area. This is typified by large-scale redevelopment with clusters of high rise, where the working poor are replaced by affluent residents. The most recent phase is super- or hyper-gentrification, or regentrification of areas that have already been gentrified. The superrich from international financial firms with a bonus culture, foreign oligarchs and industrialists displace the previous affluent community; housing is financialised. Period buildings are not respected but treated as investment assets. The lack of local engagement reduces the vitality of neighbourhoods, leading to dead zones, little street life and disappearing diversity. Tim Walder of the Greater London Assembly and Yianni Hadjiyianni of Historic England explained that Historic England’s publication Keep it London: putting heritage at the heart of London’s future referred to what is now the London Heritage Engagement Strategy, and how the local plan process should be frontloaded with heritage considerations. It sought to broaden the understanding of what heritage was to encompass culture, intangible heritage and use. This would remove barriers to community engagement and move away from the top-down approach. The Historic England project begins to address how to resource this through the National Lottery Panel members (left to right) Alec Forshaw, Tim Walder, Colin Thom, Yianni Hadjiyianni and Charmaine Brown with conference chair David McDonald (Photo: Franki Webb)
CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 7 Heritage Fund pilot with Newham, co-produced by the GLA, Historic England, the council and local stakeholders. The outputs are policy, designation and archive. Less desirable areas are redeveloped and long-established communities can be overlooked and displaced. The strategy’s aim is to engage, identify, care and cherish, giving valued assets weight in redevelopment. The engagement has five outcomes: inclusion, trust, agency, accessibility and post-project engagement. It aims to build new organisations and knowledge, as well as hearing usual voices. The next step is rolling this out to all the London boroughs. Each local authority is different, so one size will not fit all. The second pilot will be delivered through a regional capacity building grant. The author and lecturer Alec Forshaw presented a case study of the Welsh Streets, Liverpool, 1860s by-law housing built by and for the Welsh community employed in the dock industry. Developed by builder David Robert and architect Richard Owen, they were solid houses with good architectural detail. The population hollowed out with the decline of the docks and a working-class aspiration for suburban housing in cul-desacs. The government’s solution was John Prescott’s Pathfinder scheme of housing renewal, which saw compulsory purchase and the demolition of around 400,000 such homes in northern towns, leaving large sites for redevelopment. Other properties were left to deteriorate. Following objections from the Liverpool Society and SAVE, the Welsh Streets scheme was called in by then secretary of state Eric Pickles. SAVE brought in the Morton Partnership, which assessed the houses’ condition as bad but reusable. SAVE won the case and the secretary of state overturned the inspector’s advice. Replace First, a private rental provider, undertook phased repair and street planting with some new build. It was too early to say whether the Welsh Streets scheme would contribute to a new phase of gentrification, Forshaw said. Suzanna Prizeman and Judy Owens spoke about Our Hut, an architectural educational charity delivering heritage projects such as townscape heritage initiatives and heritage action zones for local authorities. Working with children in schools was a good introduction to whole communities, including the hard to reach. Children’s activities with the Peckham and Brixton townscape heritage initiatives included mapping and judgement work, culminating in an exhibition for parents and the wider community. Our Hut has also worked with NQT teachers developing resources for schools. For the Woolwich heritage action zone, the London Borough of Greenwich and Historic England funded outreach. A new conservation area was designated to help the community connect. There was a marked divide and little crossover between the two communities of Arsenal riverside new neighbourhood and the High Street. Karen Phimister of Swindon heritage action zone explained that this was one of the original round of HAZ schemes. Swindon had the UK’s best-preserved railway village with the Great Western Railway dividing the town. The HAZ sought to bring the two sides together, joining it to the town centre, adding cultural assets and bringing forward sites. In the 1970s, sites were sold to the council for demolition and regeneration, but following a public outcry they were refurbished as social housing. The HAZ masterplan developed with Historic England in 2018 spread the funding to various projects and the programme was promoted through engagement events such as heritage open days, mural projects and working with schools. The tenure is social housing; gentrification is where people are priced out. Darren Barker, CEO of Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust (see ‘Preserving Great Yarmouth’s cultural heritage’, Context 175, March 2023), told of how Great Yarmouth developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, away from the seafront by the river, old town and a series of narrow alleys. The trust aims to repair buildings, train and employ local people, provide housing and build community resilience. Its business model is to buy properties by borrowing from the local authority which is willing to use compulsory purchase powers to acquire sites. The trust de-risks the process for the council and enables other funds to be levered. The loan and building maintenance are serviced from end users. Eva Branscombe of UCL presented a case study of London’s Kensington and the place of architecture in social injustice. The heritage process both changed and fossilised, she said. The Booth map showed that there were pockets of poverty among new 19th-century housing development; older buildings were occupied by the margins of society and migrants. Post-war regeneration saw the likes of Goldfinger’s Trellick Tower (1968–72) become a place of crime but, ultimately, a sought-after Grade II* building. Gentrification was associated with artists, counterculture and young professionals, Branscombe said. New residents had no cultural association with local events. Ethnically, a monoculture was created with diversity left only in the council estates. Being located close to the city centre remained important to rich and poor alike. Robert Sakula of conference sponsor Ash Sakula Architects described case studies of developing in desirable areas as reverse gentrification: infill housing schemes in Southwold and Chatham delivering social homes, for example. He showcased cultural community-led elements such as Deptford Museum of Slavery and Freedom, a museum-without-walls project and the Deptford Market Yard scheme, delivering affordable housing, movement permeability and local, independent trading opportunities. Christine White, IHBC London Branch events coordinator
8 CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 Surviving the wreckage From Henry M Duckett The September issue (Context 177) offered interesting missives from two former colleagues (at the GLC, and the London region of then English Heritage) from way back in the mists of conservation. A thread common to each could be divined as relating to concerns about ‘subjectivity’. A degree of subjectivity will always be present in attempts to arrive at balanced judgements when both practical and aesthetic considerations are in play. Advice and guidance hitherto (pre-National Planning Policy Framework) managed, by and large, to facilitate scope for arriving at some degree of necessarily balanced objectivity through a dispassionate application of criteria and an equitable operation of procedures. John Fidler (‘Risks of fast adoption’, page 4) focuses, inter alia, on the hopelessly subjective phrase ‘less than substantial harm’ and its likely effect. An attempt to quantify and measure ‘harm’ is perhaps the most egregiously subjective element amid the welter of weasel-words scattered throughout the wretched NPPF. If, as appears to be the case, these were expressly calculated to afford the maximum opportunity for wriggle-room to bad-actors among politicians, developers and their growing phalanxes of parasitical acolytes, they appear to have achieved some degree of success. It seems though that for some vested interests the amount of wriggle-room configured therein remains wholly insufficient. Calls for a yet greater lassitude are heard, increasing in volume. Richard Griffith (‘Proper governance’, page 4) returns to a theme which has long troubled him and others – a seeming complete absence of any objective means of measuring the performance and effectiveness of listed building control. Thirty years ago and more Griffith was attempting, with little encouragement from above, to begin to introduce into the clunky bureaucratic procedures then available some initial means of measuring such. Today, one just supposes that, as with the slippery sophistry facilitated by the NPPF, a certain vagueness and ambiguity in relation to the extracting of data or in the monitoring of outcomes from what is, after all, government policy, is best served by tolerating a climate of studiedly innocent ignorance. This enshrines much useful room for policy manoeuvre and, if necessary, obfuscation in delivery, all to the advantage especially of those who wilfully persist in the patently erroneous notion that conservation inevitably applies some kind of break on just about all reasonable economic activity. This, despite shedloads of evidence to the contrary. Underlying, even driving, such skewed inequities is the relentless blind pursuit of delusional economic growth, such as seems to afflict most political stripes to varying degrees. Attempts to force the pace, to harvest any growth, from any source, whatever the product or possible usefulness of outcome, and never mind any awkward fall-out, simply inculcates a quasi-religious belief in what may be termed a divine right to exponential growth (DREG) in perpetuity (notwithstanding the absurdity of such aspirations in a world of finite limits). If capitalism has long been slowly eating itself, roughly speaking since the reformation, its greedily devouring inequities gathering significant pace through the industrial revolution to arrive at uncomfortable and selfishly rank over-eating, and indigestion, since the second world war, we might reasonably expect it soon to belch loudly. If some form of democracy survives from the wreckage, we might again be scratching around to put in place forms of equitably objective structures around recovery in the realms of land use planning, construction, conservation and the like. It will then be necessary to ensure, somehow, that whatever new form of dispensation might emerge from such a seismic shake-out, that those framing fresh guidelines are freer from the direct purse- and apron-strings of all levels of Letters
CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 9 government, such as seems to have hobbled the efforts of those who attempted to influence the present arrangements. But from where, and from whom, might there come a realistic dose of dispassionate common sense such as might facilitate a properly equitable management of inevitable decline? Henry M Duckett Getting our wagons in a circle From John Preston I vividly recall Sir Neil Cossons, when chair of English Heritage, telling the heritage sector at the 2002 Oxford Planning and the Historic Environment Conference ‘An Agenda for the 21st Century’ that in the face of threats the sector needed to form its wagons into a defensive circle. That could not be more relevant now. There is no holistic consideration of heritage in sustainability assessments at strategic and building levels. Take Cambridge, whose world-renowned significance is severely threatened by current growth, let alone Michael Gove’s announcement of ‘north of 150,000’ new homes, which would double its size with impacts on the capacity of the historic city, its medieval market town streets and its setting disregarded. Nationally, building owners cannot get the skills they need, a self-interested industry does not understand old buildings, government and press push a deregulation agenda, local government is in crisis and we face a forthcoming general election in which parties bandy retrofit targets with no mention of traditional buildings. The government’s long-delayed report on planning barriers to energy efficiency in historic homes focuses on low-carbon heating (heat pumps and solar) as well as energy-efficiency measures, and on listed building consent orders. Unhelpfully, this report was published just after the end of the consultation period for Historic England’s draft historic environment advice note (HEAN) which, it is now clear, reflected discussions not shared with the wider sector. Neither the report nor the draft HEAN highlights the need for appropriate repairs before retrofit. Both are oblivious to traditional buildings not listed or in conservation areas (so missing a vital scale argument in pressing for industry change), and crucially both ignore Part L, PAS 2035, PAS 2038, BS 7913 and BS EN 16883, and the principles and processes for balancing energy efficiency and heritage they contain. BS EN 16883, if freely available, could be an answer at strategic and building scales to John Fidler’s query (Letter, ‘Risks of fast adoption’, Context 177): ‘where is the detailed published weaponry for conservation officers in balancing heritage harm versus other socio-economic benefits?’ This building standard (regrettably overlooked by Historic England in both the King’s College case and the HEAN) sets out a model process and, crucially, puts culture on an equal footing with the social, economic and environmental components of sustainability. (See also the STBA’s ‘From Retrofit to Regeneration: a blueprint for post-Covid recovery’.) That is an urgent message to get across to politicians and the public. John Preston Looking down on photo-voltaics From Robin Uff An important aspect of the impact of the over-cladding of the lead roof of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, with obtrusive black photo-voltaic panels was overlooked and rather glossed over in John Preston’s article (‘A worldwide precedent for solar panels?’ Context 176, June 2023) and John Fidler’s follow-up letter (‘Risks of fast adoption’, Context 177, September 2023). At the committee meeting and in the statements supporting the panels, much was made of the relative difficulty of any really clear views to the roof surface beyond the parapets. It was generally accepted that from most groundlevel or vantage points from buildings it was possible only to glimpse some parts of the lead roof. This discounts the fact that, increasingly, views from above are widespread and commonplace. The aerial view on King’s College’s own website is one example. It must be difficult to conclude that there can be no seriously damaging impact and harm to the character, appearance and significance of the pale tones of the historic lead roof and limestone walling, and to the architectural detail of the chapel in itself and its wider setting. It is a great shame that Cambridge City Council’s recommendation to refuse the application was not upheld. This could have opened informed discussion and judgements for an appeal decision beneficially and a ruling on where a balance lies, with public benefits being assessed fully. Robin Uff
10 CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 Periodically AMS Transactions The Ancient Monuments Society changed its name to Historic Buildings and Places in 2021, but the society will be celebrating its centenary this year. AMS Transactions (now called the Journal of Historic Buildings and Places) has been an important part of the outreach of the society since 1953, proving authoritative in the promotion of the study of architectural history and conservation. All of its past Transactions have been digitised and the index can be downloaded as a pdf. The articles are freely available online. It is possible to search all the past volumes by keywords, enabling readers to home in on specific subjects (such as icehouses or dovecotes), or particular buildings or important figures in the history of the preservation movement. Readers of this column who are not members of Historic Buildings and Places are encouraged to explore this valuable new resource at hbap.org.uk/resources/transactions and join the society. ASCHB Transactions The ASCHB (Association for Studies in the Conservation of Historic Buildings) has similarly digitised all its past Transactions which commenced in 1973, the content of which has been covered in this column in recent years. Volumes up to and including No 40 (2018) can be accessed as pdfs. The ASCHB Transactions valuably concentrate on the conservation of specific buildings, with particular emphasis on the best practice for repairs. The Transactions are indexed but not searchable by keyword. Explore this valuable resource at hbap.org.uk/resources/transactions and join the society. SPAB Magazine In reviewing publications for Context, some frustration about the speed and efficiency of the heritage development management regime is frequently detected in reports on casework by the national amenity societies. This column does not customarily review such casework, but the latest issue of the SPAB Magazine (Winter 2023) in particular provides a reminder of the frustrations surrounding timely, appropriate and succinct advice. This is made clear regarding a proposal for 5–6 Market Place, Whitby. Without discussing the merits or otherwise of the case, the society makes clear three factors that present difficulty in providing a timely and appropriate response: a lack of sufficient information to fully understand the significance of the building; the potential impact of the proposals and the extent to which proposals would result in harm; and a lack of clear and convincing justification for such harm. These clear concerns recur frequently in other cases spread across the statutory societies and should cause pause for thought among both proponents of proposals and those in the heritage management system charged with evaluation and recommendations for decisions. None of this will be new, but the lack of analysis and interpretation highlighted by the society continues to undermine the current heritage regime. It is pleasing to note that the SPAB Magazine is rejuvenating its technical feature with an explanation and analysis of aspects of repair and materials that have not received such detailed treatment there recently. Particular note should be made of an article of no fewer than JOURNAL OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND PLACES JOURNAL OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND PLACES hbap.org.uk 2023 VOLUME 02 COVER
CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 11 eight pages by Stafford Holmes about ‘British Hydraulic Lime: a medieval inheritance and a call for its revival’. The author explores the historic use of British natural hydraulic lime and argues for its reintroduction as a local and sustainable material critical to good building conservation. Holmes points out that research and development of hydraulic limes and natural cements progressed rapidly in the 19th century, that building materials terminology was not consistent and changed over time and by locality. In that era, and indeed earlier, ‘cement’ referred to mixes with binders of hydraulic lime or hydraulic lime and pozzolan. The term was also used for various adhesives that today would be known as glues and gums. Early literature confirming the location and chemical analysis of limestone hydraulic lime can be found under the titles of ‘cement’ and/or ‘concrete’. Henry Reed’s Practical Treatise on Concrete (1869) identified some of the quarries and analysis of the limestone used for hydraulic lime. Holmes is also helpful on the question of specifications and the long-standing practice of British architects and engineers to specify hydraulic lime for mortars, renders and lime concrete, going back to Batty Langley’s Builder’s Complete Assistant (1738). Joseph Moxon’s Mechanick Exercises or the Doctrine of Handy-Works (1703) describes the choices to be made between limestone producing lime for internal work and that for exposed external finishes. Readers will need to be familiar with the complexity of how material was not only described but also used. Holmes provides an extensive list of further reading. He concludes by proposing four actions to address the present absence of British natural hydraulic lime production and use. First, develop low-cost, small-scale, regional hydraulic lime production in conjunction with the reuse of local materials for the appropriate conservation and repair of historic buildings. Second, amend or rewrite national standards for building limes to include all traditional British hydraulic limes. Third, UK limestone producers and Portland cement manufacturers should designate part of their quarries and reintroduce suitable plans to produce hydraulic line for mortars and renders in place of cement for conservation, repair and new build. Finally, develop technologies to manufacture British building limes from local limestone and, to an appropriate small scale, to meet specialist demand. The use of appropriate lime products sometimes seems to confuse the inexperienced. This accessible, well-illustrated and digestible introduction will be well worth reading. Georgian Group Newsletter Although this review does not focus on specific casework in publications by the national amenity societies, it is worth noting that the latest Georgian Group Newsletter (No 2, 2023) has experimented with an amended format, allowing each of the group’s conservation advisors to provide a short introduction to casework in their respective regions. The reporting on over 100 specific cases is a good demonstration of the geographical spread and range of heritage types evaluated where representations were made. This aspect is worth perusing simply to see the nature of proposals and the society’s expert response to them. The Georgian Group points out that 2023 was an exceptionally busy year in which it received an average of 470 notifications a month, with notable differentiation in the case types from region to region. The issue deals with the 2023 Georgian Group Architectural Awards. The variety of categories includes restoration of a Georgian building in an urban context, reuse of a Georgian building, restoration of a Georgian garden or landscape, restoration of a Georgian interior, restoration of a Georgian country house and new structures within a Georgian context. The work by the winners and commended schemes are all illustrated, demonstrating the exemplary standards of current renovation and craftsmanship. Also worth highlighting are Sebastian Deckker’s article ‘Almshouses in the courtyard manner’, one of the ten Georgian heritage assets considered most at risk in 2023 and the seventh in a series of excellent, fully illustrated articles on historic fixtures based on Charles Booking’s collection. This looks at the design and development of Georgian rainwater goods and is recommended as a guide to dating evidence. Association of Preservation Technology Bulletin More excellent advice comes from the Association of Preservation
12 CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 Technology Bulletin (Vol LIII, No 4, 2023) notwithstanding that by being published in the USA it is not always easily accessible in the UK. However, its technical content is at the cutting edge of historic environment management and often essential reading. A paper by Morgan Matheson and Michael Duric looks at the use of advanced documentation and analysis technologies, where there is a need to accurately represent and analyse historic building structures using digital technologies. Such survey methods can play a central role in documenting both the tangible and intangible qualities: architectural, historical, physical and material. This has been put to particularly good use in the conservation of a greenhouse with a warped, castiron structure at the Shaughnessy House in Montreal, Quebec. The paper examines how advances in point-cloud scans, BIM software and THERM (two-dimensional building heat-transfer modelling) and fundamental heritage and material considerations have formed the basis of a successful architecturalheritage conservation project. The house by William T Thomas was completed between 1874 and 1875. The conservatory was added in 1910 with an exposed cast-iron structure, featuring curved glazing and decorative cast-iron elements. The approach to conservation and the use of THERM as the preferred standard software is well explained by the authors and the eight-page feature is particularly well illustrated in colour. Those interested in the latest developments in software as a conservation management tool will find this article informative, as the use of point clouds and H-BIM methodologies and their numerous advantages for projects, both in the indexing and representation of collected data, are well explained. An article by Robert Kornfeld and Charles Van Winckle deals with another cast-iron structure, a fire watchtower in Harlem, New York. The tower was built in 1856 using both cast- and wroughtiron components: the spandrel beams, girders, columns and stair treads were cast iron, while the rails, tie-rods and connectors were wrought iron. At some point between 1878 and the early 1900s, the watchman’s booth on the fourth level was decommissioned and the watchtower remained standing, principally due to community advocacy. The tower was designated as a New York City Landmark in 1967 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The watchtower deteriorated throughout the midto-late 20th century, culminating in a partial collapse of the fourthlevel spandrel beams. By 1994, the tower was braced with an external frame to prevent its collapse. The article illustrates the effects of past deterioration and ingenious structural-repair options, ranging from post-tensioning of the existing columns and concealing a structural reinforcing frame to full replacement, with the new steel structure resembling the original design. Ultimately, these options were determined not to be appropriate and were not assessed in full. The approach taken forward aimed to have the minimal aesthetic impact that could be detailed in a manner that would be reversible. Most important, they would have been appropriate and true to the original design concept. The way the works to all the individual components were carried out is thoroughly explained. For Context readers, it is perhaps the general principles of authenticity and reversibility that will provide some useful object lessons, so the article may have a wider resonance. APT Bulletin The APT Bulletin, published by the Association for Preservation Technology International, is particularly distinguished for the clarity of its graphic presentation of projects. A paper by Edmund P Meade demonstrates this in dealing with the seismic evaluation and retrofit of unreinforced masonry buildings in Italy. Axonometric drawings of loadbearing masonry buildings that have suffered structural damage are especially well illustrated. Given the need to justify structural reinforcement and repair options in heritage impact statements, the presentation of this work is particularly notable. The author provides a shortlist of further reading and a number of informative footnotes. The bulletin also publishes, from time to time, a centre-section set of Practice Points. In the present issue, No 25 deals with a ninepage update on metals for historic roofing by Jeffrey S Levine, Remo R Capolino and Julie M Palmer. This deals with both the commonly encountered and more unusual roofing materials, concentrating in particular on copper, leadcoated copper, tin-zinc-alloycoated copper, tin matte, stainless steel, zinc and lead. The authors describe the composition of these materials, important installation requirements, the significance of water run-off on appearance and the general, gradually emergent weathering characteristics. For readers dealing with metal roofs, some of the materials will be relatively unfamiliar. The Practice Point notes that lead roofs on historic buildings are relatively common in the USA where the material was more commonly used in smaller, more decorative elements such as turrets and eyebrow dormers.
CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 13 From Some Architectural Problems of To-day by Charles Reilly (1924) Manchester has lately been cleaning, with the aid of a sandblast, some of her older classical buildings dating from a pre-smoke era, and these have stood the test nobly. The Theatre Royal is a good example. From this one might argue, and I think with some fairness, that as the pall over our towns has become heavier so our architecture has deteriorated. I think it is really a case of cause and effect, though admittedly other things aided in the decline. What is the use of Greek delicacy and refinement in mouldings and ornament when an oily black deposit will very quickly obliterate them and, as has been proved time after time, in a few short decades crumble them away? The good architect is likely to give up hope, and devote himself to clean buildings in the country, where not only mouldings but even texture counts. So we have in our smoky English towns our heavy overornamented buildings trying by overemphasis in every direction to force their way through the grime, and in a clean smokeless town, like New York, light gay buildings with clean line and surface and delicate ornament leaping up to the light and trusting to their general shape and mass for their main effect. The sunny city brings about bright clean-shaven buildings, the smoky one be-whiskered coalheavers grinning at us in their oily facetiousness. Construction History Construction History (Vol 38, No 2, 2023) has two particularly instructive papers on brick. The first, an illustrated 14-page paper by Linnéa Rollenhagen Tilly, discusses coated brick as an ersatz for limestone. Tilly compares architectural works in Toulouse and Stockholm as the culmination of over 20 years of Franco-Swedish research in the field of construction history, where parallels between the two cities in the use of coated brick had attracted the author’s attention. Given the infrequently encountered nature of this material, this paper may be of interest to construction historians, researchers and practitioners. The second paper is a 25-page review of brickwork by Catherine Rangel Cobos, Felix Lasheras Marino and Javier Pinilla-Mellow. It considers running bond and face bond in the construction of solid-faced brickwork walls, using a historical evaluation of English and American technical texts published up to the 1930s. The authors discuss the acceptance of the word ‘bond’ (as the coordinated and concerted arrangement of bricks in each course), such that the overlapping and interlocking arrangement would work as a strong, single structural unit. This is assisted by some very helpful detailed drawings of how the bonds work. The paper discusses face bond and running bond, the latter addressing bonding courses with square-faced bricks, bonding courses with cut-face bricks, bonding courses paired with facebrick headers and bonding courses with metal ties. From the heritage construction perspective, the article aims to assist in recognising an unfamiliar masonry solution and provides ways to allow for correct identification on site. Bob Kindred MBE
CONTEXT 179 : MARCH 2024 15 HADRIAN’S WALL Opposite: An inscription found at the fort of Moresby at the west end of Hadrian’s Wall, held at the British Museum. It reads: (This work) of the Emperor Caesar Trajan Hadrian Augustus, father of his country, the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix (built) Editorial The man who saved Hadrian’s Wall In 1792, when John Clayton was four years old, his father Nathaniel bought the Chesters Estate, west of Newcastle. This was the site of Chesters Roman fort, and Hadrian’s Wall ran through it. Nathaniel set about levelling and grassing over much of the Roman ruins, but he did collect the Roman antiquities he found there. This sparked the interest of his son, who was dismayed to see the destruction of the Roman ruins. In time John succeeded his father as town clerk of Newcastle, a post he held for 45 years, proving himself a talented and effective fixer. Among other feats, John Clayton facilitated the builder Richard Grainger’s comprehensive development plan for the centre of Newcastle, with Clayton Street being named after him. Clayton’s talents made him enormously wealthy, enabling him to pursue his passion for conservation and archaeology. He bought the land occupied by five of the Roman forts and most of a 20-mile stretch of Hadrian’s Wall. He prevented quarrying near to the wall, forbade the reuse of Roman stone in new buildings and cleared buildings constructed on the remains. He built a pavilion to display his archaeological collection, and his nephew Nathaniel later built a permanent museum. One other thing. John Clayton has been called, by the Northern Echo, among others, ‘the man who planted the Sycamore Gap tree’. That was the tree that stood in a dramatic dip on Hadrian’s Wall until it was felled by vandals in September 2023. The public reaction underlined just how important the wall’s landscape is to so many people. It is true that Clayton was the owner of the land in which the tree was planted, but it seems unlikely that he would have planted a tree so very close to the wall that he was committed to conserving. Whichever way, John Clayton deserves to be celebrated as a hero of conservation. He and the others who have conserved so much of Hadrian’s Wall and its associated structures over the years have left us plenty to puzzle about. What exactly was the wall’s function? Why was that location chosen, rather than the much shorter route on which the Romans built the Antonine Wall only 20 years later (only to abandon it eight years after completion, withdrawing to Hadrian’s Wall)? How much of today’s visible structure of Hadrian’s Wall is reconstruction? That history is the starting point for this issue of Context.
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