Institute of Historic Building Conservation No 67 September 2000 IHBCAnnualSchoolin Glasgow Conservationafter devolution Putting maintenance first
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THE INSTITUTE OF HISTORIC BUILDING CONSERVATION http://www.ihbc.org.uk IHBCOfficers Chairman: Dr Malcolm Airs (Department of Continuing Education, Oxford University, Tel: 01865 270395), 39 High Street, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxon OXl0 7HN, Tel: 01865 340075, e-mail: malcolm.airs@conted.ox.ac.uk Vice Chair: Sarah Higgins, 81 Old Street, Upton on Severn, Worcs. Tel: 01684 592518. e-mail: vicechair@ihbc.org.uk Secretary: Dr Richard Morrice (English Heritage, Tel: 01483 304869), 3 Stafford Terrace, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 4QZ, e-mail: secretary@ihbc.org.uk Treasurer: Robert Parkinson (West Oxfordshire District Council, Tel: 01993 77024 7), The Old Priory, Priory Lane, Bicester, Oxon OX6 7BG, e-mail: treasurer@ihbc.org.uk Membership Secretary: Gus Astley (Bath & North East Somerset Council), Manor House, Wells Road, Hallatrow, Bristol BS39 6EJ, Tel/Answerphone: 01761 453047, Fax: 01761 451153, e-mail: membership@ihbc.org.uk Branches Co-ordinator: Julia Smith (Milton Keynes Council, Tel: 01908 252501), 49 Chaucer Drive, Aylesbury HP21 7LH, Tel: 01296 435187, e-mail: branches@ihbc.org.uk Consultations Co-ordinator: Graham Arnold (Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Tel: 0151 691 8197), 13 Sefton Drive, Liverpool LS 3SD Education Co-ordinator: John Preston (Cambridge City Council, Tel: 01223 457166), 90 Riston Road, Cambridge CB4 3JP. Tel: 01223 562534, e-mail: johnp@cambridge.gov.uk Technical Panel Co-ordinator: Jenny Chesher (Mendip Borough Council, Tel: 01749 341320), Cannards Grave Road, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 5BT. e-mail: chesherj@mendip.gov.uk Publicity Officer: David Davidson, 862 Finchley Road, London NWll 6AB. Tel: 020 8731 8238. e-mail: publicity@ihbc.org.uk IT Manager: Peter Badcock. e-mail: it@ihbc.org.uk Branch Officers North: Ian Goodman, Tel: 01670 519391 North West: Sheila Stones, Tel: 0161-793 3770 Yorhshire: Stephen Bateman, Tel: 01274 754551 West Midlands: David Baxter, Tel: 01432 261950 East Midlands: Michael Taylor, Tel: 0116-252 7296 South: Martin Andrew, Tel: 01494 421578 South West: David Stirling, Tel: 01249 760670 East Anglia: Michael Knights, Tel: 01603 611346 South East: Peter Cobley, Tel: 01622 22154 7 London: Rosemarie MacQueen, Tel: 020 7641 2455 Scotland: Ronnie Robertson, Tel: 01343 563287 Wales: Neil Sumner, Tel: 01656 643159 Northern Ireland: Laurence Manogue, Tel: 028 9067 1114 Republic of Ireland: Bernard Dee, Tel: +353 004 737721 Registered as a Charity Number 1061593. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England Number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Terrace, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 4QZ Context News 4 Conference report 9 Materials 10 Letters 13 Crystal ball gazing in the twentyfirst century. Richard Emerson 16 The conservation officer in post-devolution Scotland. Stuart Eydmann 18 Conservation in Scotland's planning framework. David Leven 21 Editorial When maintenance comes first. Nigel Dann Managing and developing Europe's 25 inland waterways. Nigel Crowe 29 Recent developments in the law, Charles Mynors 31 Education: National Vocational Qualifications in building conservation. John Preston 35 IHBC News 37 Book reviews 39 Newdirectionsat the AnnualSchool2000 "Conservation is like rowing. You move forward whilst looking back," Richard Emerson, Historic Scotland's chief inspector of historic buildings, told the IHBC's Annual School in Glasgow in June. In his more optimistic moments, Emerson thinks of shipping his oars, hoisting sail and looking forward in the direction of travel. "Rowing requires effort and stamina, sailing requires quicker wits. One must know which way the wind is blowing and anticipate its sudden shifts." Are conservationists in any position to do that? Emerson had his doubts. "Today it seems to me that forecasting the future of conservation is more like doing the backstroke. One must thrash along, vainly looking for help from the heavens that will never come, worrying at every stroke what new, unexpected obstacle one will bang into, and unsure whether one is in fact going round in a circle." With its title 'New Directions for Conservation in the Twentyfirst Century', the Annual School could not help looking forward. The experience turned out to be exhilarating. Conservation, it became clear, is at the heart of current debates about economics, sustainability and cultural identity, as the contributions in this issue of Context show. Architectural historian Miles Glendinning, whose Annual School paper we hope to carry in a future issue, was blunt about the challenge that the conservation movement faces. His view of Scotland's predicament has echoes for the rest of the UK as well. '"National heritage' is now just a mask," he said, ''Heritage islands are dotted within the mass-produced sprawl of Clone City, alongside the equally shallow images of the new retro 0 momo signature architecture.'' Reality was papered over with images of national cultural autonomy, Glendinning claimed. "Ruskin's strictures about the lack of authenticity in 'restored' cathedrals could equally apply to this entire identity-structure of 'national heritage', as well as to individual setpieces such as the Miralles Parliament, like a theme-park pavilion in its showy metaphors of 'Scottishness'." Yet, as the Annual School showed, conservation in that small country has some determined allies, and the general standard of design of new and adapted buildings is notably high. As Stuart Eydmann pointed out, if Scotland can't get it right, what hope is there for the rest of the IHBC's constituency? CONTEXT 67 SEPTEMBER 2000 3
Context Editor Robert Cowan EditorialCo-ordinator Dr Nigel Barker, 119 Stanford Road, London SW16 4PR. Tel: 020 8679 9116, e-mail: bar ker@norbury5 7.freeserve.co. uk EditorialBoard Nigel Barker (chair) Catherine Croft (conference and exhibition reviews) Nigel Crowe (main features) Peter de Figuieredo (book reviews) Sarah Higgins Amy Hunt (regular contributors) Richard Morrice Julia Smith (IHBC branches) Michael Taylor (main features) ProductionEditor: Jonathan David, Tel: 01582 763415, Fax: 01582 467480 e-mail: jonathan_david@hotmail.com Context is published quarterly and is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2000 ISSN: 0958-2746 Publishedfor the Instituteof HistoricBuilding Conservationby Hall-McCartney Ltd, Heritage House, PO Box 21, BALDOCK, Herts SG7 5SH. Tel: 01462 896688 Fax: 01462 896677 e-mail: context@hall-mccartney.co. uk Nonmembersubscriptionsto Context Context is available to nonmembers of the IHBC at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom and Ireland £40.00 Elsewhere: US$113.00 Subscription orders, together with remittances payable to Hall-McCartney Ltd, should be sent to the address shown above. The views expressed in Context are not necessarily those held by the IHBC or the publishers. Neither the publishers nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. The products and services advertised in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the Institute. Cover Photomontage of the skyline of Glasgow, venue for the IHBC Annual School 2000. Photo courtesy of David Leven. 4 News BolsoverCastlerestored The restoration of English Heritage's 17th century hilltop castle in Bolsover, Derbyshire, is now complete. The £3.6 million programme was partly funded by the European Regional Development fund and the Single Regeneration Budget. It has included conserving Bolsover Castle's Riding House, revealing the Little Castle's panelled interiors, repairing the Venus fountain and creating a discovery centre. English Heritage describes the castle as having been "built to provide a 17th century retreat from the world into an imaginary golden age of chivalry and pleasure at a time of great cultural activity in England." Britain's first true timber gridshell building, designed by Edward Cullinan Architects, is being built to provide a building conservation centre at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum near Chichester, West Sussex. Top: the Star Chamber. Above: the Pillar Parlour. Photos: English Heritage Photographic Library. CONTEXT 67 : SEPTEMBER 2000
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News Localdistinctivenessin Europe "Most old cities - Paris, New York, Amsterd::i-m - are now sclerotic machines that dispense known qualities in ever greater quantities, instead of laboratories of the uncertain; they function now by virtue of their predictability. ........ From uniqueness, individuality and unpredictability to the ponderous repetition of branding within one &"eneration - this incredible acc(']leration has clearly had an effect on the city that hasn't been sufficiently recognised." (Rem Koolhaas, for the BBC Radio 3 series Sounding the Century). The globalisation of the world's economy, blurring of international boundaries and rapid increase in communications has had a powerful effect on local people, places and their economie·s. The results are often distortion of local character by generic ap-plication of d(']sign - from architectural styles through to street furniture, damage to local economies from the actjons of multinational c;ompanies, the loss of connection between people and their local environment. Yet.the unique physical qualities and atmosphere of cities and towns are the main reason why people visit them and why people want to live or work in them. It is a major factor in attracting bl,lsiness investment and a driving factor behind their economic position. To maintain or build competitiveness, cities and towns must reinforce their social and environmental strengths of identity and capitalise on their differences. A distinctive town eujoys ,i. natural economic advantage. The_European Commission_ has recognised the importance of this philosophy for tlie management of historic cities and towns. It has granted £2.1 million - the largest award under the RECITE funding programme, for a project called LODIS. The project will test and develop an innovative approach for the application of urban local distinctiveness, for the benefit of the local economy, in European towns and cities. 6 Category A listed Balintore Castle, Kirriemuir Angus. The project is led by Chester City Council, in partnership with cities or regions in Portugal, Sweden, Ireland and Italy. All share common problems and opportunities, such as restoration and regeneration, tourism, and traffic management. They also enjoy different political, cultural social and economic conditions. The shared skills and expertise of these regions will allow the LODIS partnership to test the contribution that local distinctiveness can make to economic competitiveness in a variety of different circumstances. Twenty-eight pilot demonstration projects are being carried out across the regions to examine best practise. The end result will be a methodology that can be used for any historic town or city, to develop a locally based policy framework. The methodology aims to ensure consistency in decision making where the public realm is affected, so that individual actions reinforce the sense of place rather than erode it, to support and improve the local economic prosperity. More than 60 diverse public, private and voluntary sector organisations are participating at a local level. The beauty of the concept is that it brings both environment groups (who might describe it as 'special character') and business groups (who know it as the 'unique selling point' of a place) together with shared understanding and objectives. Consultation forms a major element of the project, to establish community views of local identity.and promote civic pride and participation in the future management of their area. The project is now underway and wants to share its ideas and experience. For more information or results, and to be included on the project's database, email your name, title, name of your organisation, address and phone number to LODIS manager Angie Williams at a.williams@chestercc.gov.uk and you will be included on the database, or visit the web site at www.chestercc.gov.uk/lodis/home.htm Trainingworkshops rebuildRomania's craft skills Training workshops are helping to reestablish traditional craft building skills in Romania, following the devastation of many of its historic buildings and the significant loss of its skills base during the Caucesceau years. The ACTT Project in Romania, a partnership between the IHBC and the Transylvania Trust (in Romania), is sponsored by the Headley Trust and the Prince of Wales Foundation. It was initiated at the request of the British Council (Bucharest) and the Romanian government. The West Midlands Branch of the IHBC has taken the lead on behalf of the IHBC. In a foundation project in Britain last year, 25 Romanian students came to work with building craftsmen in Shropshire and Herefordshire. The main project involves directly over 120 personnel from Britain and Romania, its two teaching workshops each lasting four weeks. The first was based at the Bethlan Gabor College at Aiud in Transylvania and was attended by 32 Romanian students, all of whom are working in the building industry and whose background is primarily in rendering/plastering or in carpentry work. A number of British craftsmen with similar skills have gone out to Romania working in parallel with some of the Romanian craftsmen who attended the Foundation course, and together have offered guidance CONTEXT 67 SEPTEMBER 2000
through the teaching workshops on the use of hydraulic and nonhydraulic lime and on timber-frame repairs. Direct repairs have been undertaken on the college buildings and additional workshops have been provided on the ground within the main courtyard to allow a variety of skills to be taught both on and off the building. Much of the render on the main building has failed and has had to be removed. A major contributory factor to the render failure has been pollution caused by industry imposed on the area over the last 40 years under the communist regime. Before any work was undertaken on the building, a number of render test panels were set up during September/October 1999 with different gauged mixes, and these The main building at Beth/an Gabor College at Aiud, Transylvania: re-rendering the main farade directly below the retained upper cornice. have been constantly monitored. Bearing in mind that they have undergone temperature changes from -17°C to 36°C they have all survived remarkably well. On the rendering side, both hydraulic and nonhydraulic lime has been used on the project. There have been some difficulties in sourcing good-quality timber for the repairs but this has actually provided the opportunity to undertake additional repairs rather than replace timbers. The academic side of the project has been undertaken with the assistance of Oxford Brookes University and the Technical University of Cluj, both of which provided direct tuition during the first week of the course. This gave the students a good general background knowledge on the philosophy and practice of conservation prior to the commencement of the workshops. The quality of work produced by the students has been very encouraging and their enthusiasm has been unrivalled. The second half of the project will produce a further intake of 36 students and will cover rendering, carpentry and stone-masonry repairs. David Baxter, principal building conservation officer with Herefordshire Council and chairman of the IHBC's West Midlands Branch. Left: working on the roof of the main college building. Right: practising joints at a carpentry workshop session. CONTEXT 67 SEPTEMBER 2000 News CABE:a futurerolein the UrbanWhite Paper At a press briefing on 12 July held in the new home for the Commi~sion for Architecture ahd the Built Environment (CABE) - the Tower Building, York Road, London SEl - Arts Minister Alan Howarth celebrated the achievements of the successor body to the Royal Fine Arts Commission, now almost a year old. The newly formed national champion for architecture has set about improving the standards of urban design by tackling the problem of the mediocre through three committees. The first, the design review committee, looks at schemes both on paper and also via formal weekly presentations in a similar manner to the Royal Fine Arts Commission. The major difference is the emphasis on open discussion, so that an architect presenting a scheme gets immediate feedback at the meeting and a chance to debate the criticisms, rather than awaiting a letter some weeks later. In a further effort at transparency, CABE's comments on formal applications are posted on its web site for anyone to access. The second committee, entitled Enabling, is linking up with central government and other public bodies to advise on the processes for achieving a successful project. This advice includes selection of the 7
design team and the use of design to combat social exclusion. The committee has been involved with advising the Government on the creation of 1,000 new job centres to be built across the country as well as having input into the 200 or more ' start units' that the government is planning. It is also attempting to influence the selection of teams in the private finance initiative arena, although this is proving more difficult and the committee is therefore looking to assist in the completion of a demonstration project that can show what it is possible to achieve. The third committee is addressing the influence of CABE in the regions. Although the organisation is too small to have a regional structure, it is seeking to link up with other partners to give it a regional presence. So CABE is networking with rural development agencies, cultural consortia and the English Heritage regional offices in order to make CABE relevant. CABE is about "trying to get good design into the bloodstream of society", according to Les Sparks, chairman of the regional committee, and it is attempting to do this by helping both central and local government to become informed clients. There are apparently nominated 'champion ministers' in ADVERTISEMENT J &J Sharpe Lime Products We produce and supply materials for use on traditional buildings. 8 Hydraulic Lime Devon Stockists of St. Astier hydraulic lime. NHL 2, 3.5 & 5. Mature Lime Putty Matured for a minimum of 3 months. Ready Mixed Mortars Coarse stuff - Renders - Plasters Lime Wash In a wide range of colours. Oak Laths Riven and sawn. Woodside Merton, Okehampton Devon, Te11Fax 01805 603587 every government department responsible for carrying forward the agenda of good design, and it is hoped that the culture of government can be changed to recognise that high-quality design is cost effective. Alan Howarth made reference to the possible role awaiting CABE in the new Urban White Paper that is due for release shortly, but the precise details of this have to await publication. CABE itself has made it clear that it wants more clarity in the advice provided in PPGs citing PPG 15 in particular and the reference to new design in historic areas. This is very much in line with the comments made in Lord Rogers' Urban Task Force report regarding the need for revising controls in conservation areas, and may not be welcome news to many members of the IHBC. However, with the relationship between CABE and English Heritage only slowly developing, and attempting to improve on that between Jocelyn Stevens and Lord St John of Fawsley, it remains to be seen how much direct impact CABE will have on the quality of new design in historic areas, let alone new design in the public realm. Nigel Barker Government guidanceon urban design TheDETRhaspublishedits design guidance,basedonthe workof a team at UrbanInitiatives.Hereis what the new conservation websitewww.oldbuildings.co.uk hasto sayaboutit. The government has continued to stress its commitment to design quality in the built environment with this new guide. By design: urban design in the planning system, towards better practice is its full title and it is a welcome contribution. Published by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), it is a weighty tome of almost 100 pages. Its content should be widely appreciated by conservationists, as it reflects many of the concerns and aims we have fostered for years. The general tone of the document is that everyone involved in the development process must be committed to design quality. Local planning authorities are encouraged to adopt strong design policies through the development plan process and then to back that up with supplementary planning guidance, development briefs etc. Developers are implored to seek out and employ good designers who will be charged with producing schemes which respond positively to their context. A quick scan of the 'planning toolkit' in section 3 suggests that the skills developed by conservationists in carrying out conservation area appraisals will be in great demand if this guide is widely adopted. What it amounts to is a clarion call for the environmental sensibilities of the conservation community to be applied across the planning spectrum. The first feeling I had was a rush of optimism, tinged with concern based on real-life experience of the development control process. Then I got to page 61 and found that the authors of this document clearly understand the problems which arise when good design policies are placed in the hands of development control officers. Take this quote relating to the commonplace situation where negotiations between agents and planners reach an impasse: "It is bad practice to continue beyond this point if the likely result is a poor compromise where, in view of the time they have spent together in negotiations, the planning officer feels obliged to support the applicant by recommending a mediocre scheme to the planning committee." There is much more than that. Planners are discouraged from getting too involved in the design process and it is suggested that they advise applicants to engage the services of a suitably experienced architect to improve their schemes. All in all it is a positive guide which builds considerably from the limited design advice offered in PPG 1. It represents a genuine effort to place good, contextual design at the forefront of planning considerations. Let's take it and run with it. You can view or download By design from the DETR website (www.planning. detr. gov.uk/bydesign/ index.htm). It is essential reading for anyone involved in development. CONTEXT 67 SEPTEMBER 2000
Conferencereport TICCIH- is it a name or a noise? The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage, known popularly but slightly less intelligibly as TICCIH, held its triennial conference in London for the first time in 25 years, Jim Douet reports. TICCIH's triennial conference in London at the end of August was a return to the country of its conception, if not its birth. The idea of an international society was launched in 1975, at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire, in order to protect and to promote what was then a fledgling discipline, uncertain of its temporal reach, its methodology and especially whether it should really call itself 'industrial archaeology'. One of its parents then - I'm not sure which - was the new head of English Heritage, Sir Neil Cossons, and he was again present in August as the former Director of the Science Museum, which hosted the conference. The 'eisteddfod' of the industrial archaeologists brought to London practitioners from most parts of the world, even if there were grumbles that its high cost and the over-mighty pound restricted the numbers of people who could come from Latin America, Central and East Europe, areas where TICCIH is trying hard to encourage consciousness of industrial conservation. Pronounced to rhyme with Mickey (though around the Mediterranean it's sometimes Titchie or Ticksey), TICCIH probably occupies a space in the galaxy of international societies complementary to ICOHTEC (the history of technology), concentrating as it does more on the physical, archaeological evidence of technological activity than on its historical evolution, and with a bigger ambit than more focused groups such as TIMS (wind and water mills), or ISSES (stationary steam engines). Industrial archaeology interests itself in the material remains of the means of production of industrial society. In consequence, its citadels are generally museums rather than the universities, a bias reflected in the board of TICCIH, in which almost half are curators, if you include Sir Neil, with the other two British members Dr John Crompton at the Museum of Scotland, and Stuart B. Smith of the Trevithick Trust in Cornwall. Without a strong and active university membership such as its cousins in the history of technology enjoy, TICCIH has not always been able to mount the sustained programme of conferences and seminars, working groups and publications that keeps societies active and relevant to their members, and it has had a reputation for fighting above its weight. Successful triennial conferences have been separated by periods of relative tranquillity, and its success has depended upon the resources, initiative and determination of its board members. Below the board, it has a hierarchy of national representatives who have been responsible for channelling information between the local enthusiasts or, where one exists, the national society. About 50 countries are represented in this way. Global enthusiasm for industrial archaeology is generally strongest where there is a feeling that industrialisation was critical to the growth of culture and identity, and where the physical remains of industry are therefore endowed with special historical significance. Thus not only Britain, the 'first industrial nation' as it likes to call itself, but also divers other countries put a strong value on their industrial heritage as evidence of a historical process that gave a strong new twist to their people's story. These include Belgium, Japan, Sweden, the United States, as well as Catalonia, from where I write. Heritage is cultural DNA, the record of what went before, as well as the fundamental building block of communal identity. TICCIH's Catalan executive president, for example, argues that it is its industrial heritage rather than its marvellous Romanesque or Gothic remains that defines Catalonia, because what actually distinguishes this corner of Spain from the rest of the country, as well as from almost the whole of southern Europe region, is that it ranks among the first industrialising nations. In other parts of the world there are different reasons why industrial CONTEXT 67 : SEPTEMBER 2000 heritage is studied and protected. Italy was part of the 'second wave' of industrialisation, based on electricity and chemicals, towards the end of the 19th century. The process is therefore associated with the Resorgimento and the creation of the first unified Italian state. Academic study of the subject is particularly strong, and there are currently more members of TICCIH in Italy than in almost anywhere else. In central and eastern Europe, both the historical importance of the industrial archaeology, especially in mining and metallurgy, and some unique historical survivals, courtesy of the technological lethargy of communism, give TICCIH a rich area for future expansion. In Latin America, from Mexico to Chile, industrialisation has sentimental connections with the liberation from colonial rule, while in Western Europe, the most recent technological phase shift, Toffler's 'third wave' and already for some the conceptual terminus to industrial archaeology, has thrown new emphasis on the conservation and interpretation of the leviathan remains of heavy industry. Nowhere has this attracted more resources or produced such interesting results than in Germany. Before it could even begin to be called a rust belt, schemes were being drawn up to exploit the unrivalled monuments to German coal, iron and steel east of the Rhine. Now, the 'Industrial Culture Route of the Ruhr' links nine towering look-out points, 12 workers' estates and six major industrial museums in a trans-regional network, whose extension to the whole Rhine valley is already progressing. UNESCO is now considering the entire colliery landscape around the Zollverein coal mine in Essen as a world heritage site. So what part does TICCIH have to play in this? At the formal level, its most significant role is as ICOMOS' and the World Heritage Committee's partner in assessing industrial sites, monuments and landscapes. The two have just renewed this 15-year old association and, with industrial sites being among those identified as under-represented on the list, TICCIH has a programme of 9
contextual reports on different industries for its partners' guidance. Three of these are already published: The International Canal Monuments, which was co-ordinated by Stephen Hughes of the RCAHMW, Context for World Heritage Bridges, by Eric DeLony, and Railways as World Heritage Sites, compiled by Anthony Coulis with the Institute of Railway Studies in York. Proposals for similar studies of mining and textile industry sites have already been committed. TICCIH provided an external perspective to the proposals on the UK tentative hst submitted by the RCHME for Saltaire and the Derwent Valley. Otherwise its primary purpose and main activity is to further contacts between people in different countries working to study, record, conserve and interpret their industrial heritage. For most of its quarter century, this has been through the system of national representatives outlined above. But at the last conference in Thessalonika, in 1997, the principle of having individual members was accepted and since the spring of this year, TICCIH has been registered as a charity in Britain, partly to allow it to process credit card subscriptions. Members now receive a quarterly bulletin, of which modesty prevents me saying much but that aims to maintain a steady flow of news and opinion, and an academic journal, Patrimoine Industriele ~ Industrial Patrimony, that the TICCIH President, Professor Louis Bergeron of the Ecomusee Le Creusot, edits and publishes in French and English. Part of the strategy for the future is to grow thematic subgroups that can increase participation through their own programmes of meetings, and these are already established for non• ferrous mining and textile manufacturing and, on paper at least, several other fields as well. The programme of intermediate conferences already has one on textile sites and industrial museums planned for Barcelona next spring, and the TICCIH/Third Latin American Colloquium on Industrial Heritage in Chile is in the autumn of 2001. The other breakthrough in recent years has been finding an institution generous enough to provide some 10 administrative support, to publish a newsletter and mount a web site, which is what the Museu de la Ciencia i de la Tecnica de Catalunya has done since its Director, Eusebi Casanelles, was elected executive president in 1997. For an independent, voluntary and resource-challenged organisation with a global remit, the internet is an enormous unexpected boon, and one of the themes discussed in London was how it could be harnessed to extract the maximum benefit. Thus far, the TICCIH website has merely made basic information on the hierarchy available.more easily: how to join, addresses, who is who, and so on. A next step is to publish and distribute the conference papers only through the web page, and the new opportunities for web publications of research are very interesting. And so is the possibility of rapid, world-wide consultation. For instance, for the report for the textile World Heritage Sites recommendations it is proposed simply to post the draft on the web page with an invitation for interested parties to download it and make any suggestions they feel necessary, and then to wait for all hell to break loose amongst the rebarbative textile historians. When TICCIH was born, the concept of the international society envisaged a dispersed group with shared interests who could be brought together every few years to compare their experiences, find out what alternatives there were to the way they did things, and to swap tales about self-acting mules, boring machines or steam chests. That concept has been rendered obsolete by changes in communication technologies, Now a society like TICCIH is better viewed as a network potentially in a state of permanent virtual conference, and the role of the governing committee becomes much more about facilitating the interchange or information. In future TlCCIH may come to sound less like the slap of a flying shuttle, and more like the click of a mouse on a hype:rlink. TICCIH's web site is http:// www.museu.mnactec.com/TICCiH James Douet is editor of TICCIH Bulletin. Materials Committeeformedto conservehistoric thatch A committee has been set up to encourage the conservation of historic thatch (COHT) and address some of today's issues, notably the production and use of traditional thatching materials. The stimulus for this came from research work which showed that perhaps 200 properties still had base coats which were smoke blackened from open fires of medieval times. Equally importantly, other layers from later centuries have given us important information about the materials and techniques that were used. John Letts, an archaeobotanist at Reading University and one of the researchers commissioned by English Heritage 1 to investigate the significance of historic thatch, invited a group of enthusiasts to continue and develop this work. The committee's terms of reference are to: 1 Promote the identification of buildings with surviving historic thatch. 2 Promote ducational initiatives for owners, thatchers, specifiers and conservation officers and others. 3 Identify and promote appropriate research projects. 4 Provide practical advice. COHT is trying to further the protection of important examples of historic thatching and stimulate the production of older species of wheat that seem to offer advantages over those that are most widely grown today. A list of all known examples of smoke-blackened thatch is being prepared and a proposal to upgrade the listed status of these buildings is being considered by English Heritage. If accepted, a thematic survey would be undertaken and it is thought that most good survivals would merit upgrading to grade II*. This would bring attention to these very important relics and would also mean that English Heritage would be alerted to proposals which could threaten the roofs. On the positive 1 English Heritage Research Transactions: Thatch Voiume 5: Moir & Letts (Thatching in Eng/arid 1190-1940 & Volume 6: Cox & Letts (Thatching in England 1940-1994) CONTEXT 67 : SEPTEMBER 2000
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111111111111111 SAINT PAUL'S HE ITAGE PRODUCTS Designedspecificallyfor historicbuildingrestorationwork, SaintPaul'sHeritagemortarsandgroutsarelimebased, cementfree productsthat offersympathetic controlledstrength. HERITAGEGROUTS Lowstrengthandmediumstrength Mechanicalor handapplied PumpedAnchorGroutSystem PolymericLimewash HERITAGEMORTARS HERITAGEP.A.S. HERITAGELIMEWASH Allproductspre-blendedandbagged readyfor mixing. CMS p.JO)zament SwainsParkIndustrial Estate, ParkRoad, Oversea!, Swadlincote,Derbyshire DE126JT Tel:01283554800 Fax:01283552923 OrderLineTel:01283550060 Ventrolla offer a nation wide serviceto renovateand upgrade original windows. Fitted by experienced craftsmen the VentrollaSystemwill: • Reduce external noise by up to lOdb • Virtuallyeliminatedraughts and rattles • Ensuresashesopen and close with ease • Maintainthe architectural integrityof these periodwindows • Offereasycleaningandpainting with our SashRemovalSystemoption Recognisedfor its use in Conservationareas and Listed Properties,windows installed with the VentrollaSystem benefit from modern standardsof comfort and energy efficiency. ~ Vzntrollla® SASHWINDOWRENOVATION SPECIALISTS 11 Hornbeam Square South, Harrogate HG2 8NB For details for how Ventrella can help with your refurbishment plans, please call FREEPHONE0800 378278 PAYE 12 CONTEXT 67 : SEPTEMBER 2000
Most of the loss of historic thatch results from stripping the whole roof and re/hatching in imported water reed or new straw. side, it would mean such buildings would be eligible for grant aid from English Heritage. The need for action is urgent, as it is thought that many of the 200 identified as containing SET have had their original straw coverings stripped to the rafters and replaced with new straw or imported water reed. A very important factor in understanding thatching traditions in an area derive from a proper archaeological investigation of a roof. John Letts has developed a method of archaeological investigation which provides valuable information. It is planned to publish a guidance leaflet showing how this is done, but such a survey needs to be undertaken by individuals capable of interpreting the structural development of a building and able to discern differences in organic material and thatching methods. One of the most important reasons why English straw thatch is being rapidly replaced with imported water reed is the presumed inferiority of local products. However, thatchers who grow their own traditional materials, such as Squareheads Masters (dating back to the 1880s) and Little Joss (1910s), are able to point to long straw thatches lasting in excess of 50 years. The older varieties seem to be more robust and have the significant advantage of ripening over a wider time period, which means that the arduous and labour intensive harvest can be spread over several weeks instead of being concertinaed into a furious fortnight. Screening trials are required to identify positively wheat varieties that can produce high-quality thatching straw. Unfortunately, none of the older varieties that appear suitable is included on the National List of Permitted Varieties - which means that it is illegal to sell, trade or give away their seed. The legislation is not an absolute impediment to progress on this issue, however, and the COHT committee is exploring ways of minimising its negative effects on the thatching industry. Trials are taking place at a number of sites in England including the National Trust's Holnicote Estate bordering Exmoor. Here the Trust is responsible for maintaining 60 thatched buildings and is devising a strategy aimed at full sustainability and self-sufficiency over the next few years. The plan is to grow its own straw, willow and hazel and for the estate's thatcher to train an apprentice in combed-wheat reed thatching. Archaeological and historical research is already taking place and this includes gathering information from estate records about the longevity and performance of more recent thatching. Achieving each of the objectives will depend very much in spreading information widely, and this will include Conservation Officers, thatchers, growers, owners and other professionals in the field. An article has been written for the Thatchers Newsletter which reaches most thatchers. English Heritage is planning a series of regional seminars which will also spread the message. It is hoped to alert owners by articles in some of the magazines aimed specifically at them. Making thatchers aware of the issues is crucial and a module is being prepared for the level 3 NVQ. The possibility of widening the training offered at Knuston Hall, the Countryside Agency's training school, is being considered. This will include specific short courses dealing with the identification and conservation of historic thatch. Chris Wood works for the building conservation & research team at English Heritage and sits on the IHBC's technical committee. CONTEXT 67 SEPTEMBER 2000 Liz Davidson: now architects can break the rules. "We don't want to be prescriptive. We had to be in the 1970s and '80s when design standards were low. Now architects can break the rules and make it look right." Liz Davidson of the Glasgow Townscape Heritage Initiative speaking at the Annual School. "If we drive out Terry the Tattoo Artist, we've failed. I've put him in as a performance criterion." Liz Davidson on the importance of considering a building's users as well as its fabric. "Take care on your walkabouts. Groups of conservationists are notorious for crossing roads without looking." John Clare, administrator of Annual School 2000. ~,wrrv~ L ~-- - ~ -~ r John Clare: conservationists are notorious. "We are always at a point where something is beginning and something is ending. We live in a bubble called now. It's always now for 13
us. Yesterday was now when I was there. "Historic preservation - conservation - is a dynamic and deliberate process through which we decide what to keep from the present for the future, and try to keep it. The past does not appear in that definition. We can not preserve the past: it is gone. "Human beings think historically. Once you've seen Van Gogh's sunflowers you can never see sunflowers in the garden with the same eyes again. We have to choose W Brown Morton III: a bubble called now. what we value. As a society we paint our own portrait by what we choose to preserve." "Conservation must be the servant of an idea bigger than itself. The criterion should be: will it make our lives richer if we keep it?" W Brown Morton III of Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia, speaking at the Annual School. "Sustainable development is a cliche. It's a means to an end. Yes, we should make good use of resources, but the goal should be to make good places." W Brown Morton III "Every 1,000 tourists create six jobs. Conservation is part of that equation. The tourist boards have learned that. We need to use it." Councillor Pat Chalmers of Glasgow District Council at the Annual School. "Creating each job cost the Merseyside Development Corporation £1.2 million. Turning a church in Shrewsbury into a craft centre cost £18,000 and created 50 jobs.' Micky King of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. 14 "No coach parties." Sign on a hostelry near Norwich, which describes itself as 'an ancient coaching inn', recorded in the Independent. "English Heritage needs to be sensitive to the fact that people working there don't particularly want to walk past a mural which depicts them as little more than monkeys. English Heritage's view that there is no reason for change and no room for compromise is unlikely to stand up to examination of their past decisions. This isn't a statue, it's a living place of work." Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Greater London Assembly, quoted in the Independent on English Heritage's response to plans by the South African High Commission to replace some of the artworks in grade II-listed South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, which date from the high days of apartheid. "[Britain is] a country culturally fond of great grandfather's attic, skilled at holding on to everything. The urban environment is affected by our lack of cleaning out the old." CABE commissioner Ian Ritchie, quoted in Building Design, presenting the commission's work in Architecture Week. "A new romantic mood is pervading some aspects of building conservation. [Recently] English Heritage completed its conservation work at Wigmore Castle in Herefordshire, leaving it an overgrown ruin rather than a tidiedup tourist attraction of the old style. "Whatever the other arguments, the romantic approach at Barrington may be to allow the owner's family to build and demolish, as times change, and to continue to live for generations to come in their ancestral home." Simon Denison "The welfare of a historic building should come before the current owners, no matter how long their family have been residents. Such an idea of continued ownership is a foolishly romantic notion and should not cloud the judgement of such important issues, especially when the decisions made may be irreversible. "If the owners cannot afford to continue living in Barrington Park, they should have to accept the financial realities that many other home-owners have to face in less historic locations every day." Richard Hollingdale Two views in British Archaeology on the proposal by the owner of grade 1 listed Barrington Park in Gloucestershire to demolish its Victorian wings, reducing the house to a manageable size and allowing the Georgian core to be repaired. Miles Glendinning: thought for the day. "Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names./Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish./This their way is their folly; yet their posterity approve their sayings." Miles Glendinning took his text from Psalm 49 for his Annual School talk on 'The conservation movement; a cult of the modern age'. The talk will be published in a later issue of Context. Paisley Abbey (this. is the west front) was one of the stops at an Annual School study tour led by Renfrewshire Council planner Duncan Mackintosh. CONTEXT 67 SEPTEMBER 2000
Letters De-designatingconservationareas From Michael Bruce The relentless erosion of the character of conservation areas (David, Davidson, IHBC News, June) is familiar to all conservation officers. But we shouldn't allow the English language to suffer the same fate at our hands. Why substitute contorted inventions such as 'de-designation' for the clear and simple 'cancellation'? 23 Thornhill Road,London Nl JJR StoweHousegates From Jane Kennedy, Purcell Miller Tritton architects The iron gates originally placed at the north ends of the colonnades at Stowe House were sold at auction in 1924 and were thought to have gone to a manor house in Devon. The north front of Stowe House is currently undergoing repairs as part of an HLF-funded project. The trustees would like to obtain replicas of the gates, and we would like to find them and take detailed measurements. Does anyone recognise the gates? 46 St Mary's Street, Ely, Cambs CB7 4EY, e-mail ely@pmt.co.uk Glasgow:howwas it for you? From John Clare, administrator, IHBC Annual School 2000 I am writing on behalf of the organising committee for this year's Annual School in Glasgow to ask those who were there, and particularly those who have also been at previous schools, to let me have their views about the event. The committee is very grateful to those who have already written oremailed their appreciation of the dayto-day programme, and their comments have been passed on to those concerned, including the speakers and sponsors. However, I should also be grateful for widerranging thoughts about the nature and format of the annual school, which can be taken into account in the preparation of a paper about the organisation of future schools that I propose to submit to Council. Feel free to make any (constructive) criticism or comments, covering any aspect of the event: the time of year it is held, whether it should run over a weekend, its size, length, cost, typical venue and typical programme, what is included (eg most meals) and excluded (eg a set of papers) etc. You may contribute anonymously if you wish, but in any event I shall not attribute specific comments to their sources. Please write to me at the address below. Many thanks. vennel Cottage, Goose Green, Gullane, East Lothian EH31 2BA, Scotland. @ihbc.org.uk. GLASGOWSCHOOLSPONSORS The IHBC in Scotland is grateful for generous assistance in arranging the annual school from: • The Scottish Conservation Bureau of Historic Scotland for underwriting the cost, • Historic Scotland (Properties in Care) for granting the use of Glasgow cathedral, • Glasgow City Council for hosting the reception in the City Chambers and making the banqueting hall available for the annual school dinner, • Allan Cumming Associates for sponsoring the study tour to Stirling Castle and Alloa Tower. The following firms generously sponsored hospitality at the annual school: Cupa Slates; Draftseal, specialist window draughtproofers; Hunter and Clark, contractors; Keim Mineral Paints; The Metal Window Co; Page and Park, Architects. St George's Church, Leicester, after a lightning strike in 1846. An illustration from Lightning protection in church: a guide to design and installation published by English Heritage and the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group. CONTEXT 67 SEPTEMBER 2000 15
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