2 C O N T E X T 1 0 9 : M A Y 2 0 0 9 Context Briefing Copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November.The copy deadlines in 2009 are: Issue Deadline July, Issue 110 18 May September, Issue 111 20 July November, Issue 112 21 September Editor Rob Cowan Editorial Coordinator Fiona Newton 21 George Street, Louth, Lincolnshire LN11 9JU Tel 01507 602567 email [email protected] Editorial Board Fiona Newton (chair) Susan Brook (regular contributors) Nigel Crowe (main features) Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Michael Taylor (main features) Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2009 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Published for the Institute of Historic Building Conservation by Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury,Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA Tel 01747 871717 Fax 01747 871718 email [email protected] www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to non-members of the IHBC at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £50.00 Elsewhere £75.00 Subscription orders, together with remittances payable to Institute of Historic Building Conservation, should be sent to the IHBC Business Office at Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA. 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. Sizergh Castle renovated Sizergh Castle in Cumbria has reopened following extensive repairs and renovation. The work has included re-roofing the north and south wings in Westmorland slate, re-leading the roof of the central tower and associated gutters, rebuilding tower parapets and rendering the chimney stacks. The 14th century Pele Tower has been re-pointed in lime mortar, and the chapel ceiling re-lathed and plastered. The Grade I listed house, extended in Elizabethan times, has been home to the Strickland family since the 13th century. It is owned by the National Trust. Purcell Miller Tritton was the architect and historic building consultant. Get your head down Nigel Crowe writes: Underground structures have a fascination of their own. A trawl of the web reveals numerous sites dedicated to their study, recording and touring. There are sites for the USA, the former East Germany (a bunker nut’s paradise), France, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Britain, among other countries. Many of these websites are devoted to cold war structures. If White Alice, Cobra Mist and Magic Mountains get your pulse racing, these are for you. One of the best-developed websites is that of Subterranea Britannica. Formed in 1974, the group is devoted to ‘the study of man-made and manused underground places’. Sub Brit divides into two main areas of interest. One covers a wide range of historic underground sites including canals, railways, roads, mines, quarries and pre‑20th-century military structures. The other covers cold war sites including Royal Observer Corps posts (over 1,566 of them), local government control centres, nuclear shelters, RAF airfields, Rotor Radar stations and so on. Some of these cold war sites are staggering. Burlington, the subterranean city beneathWiltshire, had accommodation for 4,000 people, an underground lake and 60 miles of roads. It was only decommissioned in 2004. Sub Brit does a fine job of revealing the secrets of underground Britain and organising visits to the most accessible sites. Just one word of warning: once you get on to www.subbrit.org.uk, you will be there for hours. Sizergh Castle, home to one family since the 13th century and owned by the National Trust
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