C O N T E X T 9 9 : M A Y 2 0 0 7 39 Book reviews Underpinnings English Heritage Historical Review, No 1, 2006 Edited by Richard Hewlings, English Heritage, 116pp, many illustrations in colour and b&w, ISBN 1 905624336 or 928905624 331, £20 plus £5 p&p. Published towards the end of 2006, this is the first volume of what English Heritage hopes will be an annual journal. As such, it reflects the broad range of English Heritage’s concerns and the enormous variety of its 400 or so properties, which range from Stonehenge to Stott Park bobbin mill, and from the royal oak at Boscobel House to the Ranger’s House at Blackheath, not to mention the pictures at Kenwood. With such a portfolio of properties, acquired from so many sources, English Heritage has to undertake historical research in many fields just to understand what it has before protecting a building and presenting it to the public. Conservation officers meet English Heritage for the most part in the sometimes fraught arenas of listed building consent and buildings at risk. This volume is a good reminder of the academic underpinning of its advice and opinions. It is not a professional journal, full of articles valuable for one’s continuous professional development, but an academic journal, a repository of research reports, some of which provide background for work on the building site. The ten previously unpublished articles, by members of English Heritage’s staff or by consultants working for English Heritage, cast the net widely, perhaps too widely, but this is an appetiser for future volumes. The articles range in time from the Roman amphitheatre at Chester (and its influence on the later development of that part of the city) to the use of Henry VIII’s Calshot Castle during World War Two; and in space from the gatehouse at Dunstanburgh Castle to Moreton Corbet Castle, which was rebuilt by a Tudor gentleman. There are a couple of articles on Stuart royal portraits and on others painted by Edward Hayteley, a contemporary of Arthur Devis. Building archaeology makes an appearance too, with articles on the dendrochronological research which proved that the former door to the Pyx chamber in Westminster Abbey is the oldest door in Britain, and on the detective work which allowed the ‘reconstruction’ of a 17th century staircase in a long-demolished townhouse in Newcastle from timbers found in the stables at Brinkburn Priory. There will be few people competent to judge the quality of all these articles. The six or seven which relate to my own interests are by authors who are masters of their subject and can write well. They are also beautifully illustrated. This volume reflects credit on English Heritage.What, though, is the market for such a publication? Most journals limit their range to a period or to an area, but this one reflects most of England and most of recorded time. Is this too much? Might it be possible to publish off-prints of individual items for sale at individual properties? English Heritage owes it to itself to produce a high-quality academic journal. It has so many properties, and some of them are so varied in their features of interest, that the editorial board will surely be able to inspire ten articles a year for the foreseeable future. I hope so. Despite my cavils, this is an enterprise which deserves to succeed. John Champness, architectural historian and former conservation officer, Lancashire County Council Not so remote Understanding the Edwardian and Inter-War House: a historical, architectural and practical guide Alan Johnson,The Crowood Press, 2006, 232pp, 138 line drawings, 63 black and white photographs, 16 colour photographs, hardback ISBN 1861268343, £19.95 Edwardian and inter-war houses are everywhere. Our grandparents bought them; we recall them from our childhood; we live in them now. Alan Johnson owns one and as an architect he is well versed in the construction, materials and problems of houses built between 1870 and 1939. The period is a big one. It starts with Victoria’s sunlit Empire and ends with the whistle of falling bombs. It saw a massive expansion of towns and cities; by 1939 one in four houses in England was new. Despite the Architectural Review claiming in 1934 that ‘no age… is so remote from today as the Edwardian’, there were similarities between Edwardian and inter-war houses: uncomfortable proportions, for one thing, and a ‘preference for gloomy interiors’. Johnson puts these buildings under the spotlight. In so doing he provides a judicious mixture of cultural analysis and practical assistance to the householder. The background history of the period is enthusiastically covered. It is interesting to learn, for example, that between 1901 and 1911 a million houses were built. But England and Wales were still short of up to 800,000
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