ACO BRANCH NEWS The venue for the meeting provided an opportunity to view and be guided. This included a film about the careful task of restoration completed in 1984 by a skilled workforce directed by the York Civic Trust which sought excellence and original interpretation. Dr John Shannon of the York Civic Trust introduced us to Fairfax House and its turbulent history of use since it left the hands of the Fairfaxes. Viscount Fairfax in 1762 remodelled the interior with John Carr's help. It has all the delightful Georgian detail you would expect. The York Civic Trust achieved a long held ambition when in the 1980s it acquired the property with forceful persuasion from the local authority, which was more concerned with getting its 'pound of flesh'. The support of the Terry family, with its generous donation of very fine examples of period furniture, turned the balance in the Trust's favour. The Georgian furniture is the best that can be seen, complementing the Trust's commendable aim of excellence thoughout for works of restoration and inclusion of original items. The influence of the architect, Francis Johnson, is to be seen everywhere. His dedication is reflected in the quality result. John Shannon's gentle tour around both principal floors brought history alive. Fairfax would certainly recognise his house now. If you missed the Branch meeting a visit is advised to Fairfax House. SCOTLAND BRANCH The Scottish Conservation Officers began this year, appropriately enough, on the day of Burns Night (25 January to the uninitiated!) with a meeting at New Lanark, the 18th century model industrial village. New Lanark was founded by Arkwright and Dale in 1783 in a wooded gorge of the River Clyde just outside Lanark and harnessed the famous Falls of Clyde to power the cotton mills on which the community was based. It was however the involvement (in the early 19th century) of Robert Owen, the pioneer of enlightened management and utopian socialism, that brought New Lanark to fame as a model industrial village. The building of New Lanark was completed within 40 yearsand the buildings - cotton mills, community buildings and workers' tenements - form a unique CONTEXT 29 architectural set piece, exhibiting a remarkable unity of design and materials. The Scottish Civic Trust remarked that "the artisans' understanding of the Scottish Classical Vernacular, built up through the 18th century, reached something of an apogee at at New Lanark". Today the village is designated as an Outstanding Conservation Area and all the buildings within it are listed Category A. It has also been nominated as a World Heritage Site. Since 1974/5 the restoration of New Lanark has been co-ordinated by the New Lanark Conservation Trust and is now well underway. Annie Bell, the Trust's Development Officer, gave us an interesting and informative tour of projects completed to date, including Robert Owen's School, Mill No 3, the Institute for the Formation of Character, and some of the tenements, which generated a lively discussion on the ethics of sash and case windows, astragals and paint schemes! The day concluded with a look at the Trust's Visitor Centre developments, notably the Annie McLeod Experience, an audiovisual ride similar in concept to that at the Jorvik Centre in York. Although controversial, particularly to the purists amongst us, tourism development represents a real and effective way of funding major conservation projects such as New Lanark, and illustrates the importance of economic realism in conservation planning in the 1990s. Thanks must go to Annie Bell and the New Lanark Conservation Trust for hosting us on such an enjoyable day and in such a splendid setting. A visit to New Lanark is a must to any fellow conservation officer staying across the border. Next Meeting: Friday 19 April at Clackmannan District Council, at which we hope to look at the restoration work in progress at Alloa Tower, amongst other sites. NORTHWEST BRANCH A meeting of conservation officers in the North West Branch was held at the offices of Martin Perry in Southport on 14 December 1990. As a result of the resignation of Mike King as Branch Representative following his move onto private practice, Rob Burns, Conservation Officer for Wirral MBC, was elected Branch Representative with Graham Arnold of Sefton MBC as secretary and Mary King as Treasurer. Clare Deacon of Liverpool City Council agreed to become 'events' secretary and the region hopes to organise a positive programme of events for the coming year. North West members who were unable to make the meeting on 14 December and require details of future meetings should contact Rob Burns on 051-638 7070 ext 211 (work) or 051-652 0996 (home). Mike King's number at work is now 051-708 7014. EAST ANGLIA BRANCH OBITUARY: MIKE WADHAMS (1940-1990) Mike Wadhams, an early ACO member, was one of the first members of the Essex Historic Buildings team which he joined from private architectural practice 20 years ago. His expertise in numerous areas was invaluable to all his colleagues. He was one of our first 'listers' in Essex, predating the Heseltine Resurvey by two or three years. His innovative work in the study of historic timber framing paralleled that of his friend Cecil Hewett. Mike was a great educator, lecturing at York, at the AA and many WEA courses in and around Essex, and was a guiding light in the Essex Historic Buildings Group. He had a real 'feel' for structures and, with his friendly but firm manner, built up an easy empathy with owners and builders, who he was generally able to persuade to retain and repair rather than remove and replace. In recent years the section relied upon Mike to draft all its 101 and 115 Repairs Schedules, a task which he performed with great skill and the minimum of fuss. Latterly Mike suffered extreme pain which he bore uncomplainingly as he continued to work. He leaves us a great archive, particularly on Cressing Temple. His friends hope to achieve the posthumous publication of his recently completed book on the Small House, 1000-1800 AD. Like many other conservation officers Mike was a great jazz enthusiast, and his friends now know that at last he can hear the blues being played by Buddy Bolden whilst getting a definitive date for the Grange Barn, Coggeshall. Peter Richards 41
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