50 C O N T E X T 1 1 2 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 9 Book reviews Drawn by hand Geometry of Construction Trafalgar Bertram Nicholls and Norman Presto Keep, Donhead Publishing, 2009 (3rd edition), 230pp, ISBN 978 1 873394 89 2, £30 First published by Cleaver-Hulme Press, London, in 1947, this book was revised and a second edition published in 1954. This third edition by Donhead, a reprint of the CleaverHulme 1954 edition, is introduced by Richard Hoyle and Daren Tailby, both lecturers in stonemasonry. The book was originally conceived as an introduction to technical geometry for students and apprentices in the fields of architecture, engineering and the construction trades. Both authors were lecturers in their respective fields of architecture and construction. Clear hand-drawn illustrations accompany each page of text. They take the reader through an evolution of the basic concepts and conventions of technical drawing, up to complex geometric calculations and projections. The content progresses from working out a right angle, to calculations for the entasis of a column, the construction of gothic tracery or Ionic capitals. Each page introduces a new topic, and was presumably intended to act as a series of exercises to be undertaken during each lesson, building up to a complete course. I learnt technical drawing at school and technical college using this or a very similar text book and method. All geometric concepts explained in the book are applied to methods of building construction or architectural style.Where appropriate, simple but clear examples of practical application are hand-illustrated. The handdrawn and annotated illustrations are competent and accurate, but not over-polished. The obvious influence of the human hand was once a quality common to pre-digital technical illustration. As a student, I found these types of illustrations to be reassuring and accessible. I can not see that this text book is any less valid than when it was first published in 1947, or when I used a similar learning aid many years later. Clearly for the general architectural practitioner many of the drawing methods explained in the book can now be bypassed by computeraided drawing software. However, for those studying architecture or architectural history, and for traditional trades such as carpentry and stonemasonry, I am sure most would agree that there is no substitute for learning from basic principles. The publication is presented in a traditional cloth-covered hardback edition, with embossed gold text on the cover and spine. Even as a new publication, this has a timeless quality. I would recommend it as a lifelong study companion for anyone wishing to understand the origins of geometry and architectural construction. Julian Bagg, independent heritage consultant and coordinator of the IHBC technical panel New uses needed Barns of the Yorkshire Dales: history, preservation and grand designs Andy Singleton and David Joy, Great Northern Books PO Box 213, Ilkley, LS29 9WS, 2008, 159pp, c135 ills, mainly colour, ISBN 978 1 905080 19 9, £16.99 A visit to the Dales often sets me wondering about conservation. The hills may be timeless, carved by rain and ice thousands of years ago. But the patterns of moorland and pasture, edged by dry stone walls and dotted with field barns, were created scarcely more than 200 years ago. They depict a way of farming which has been unviable for around a quarter of that time.Which layers of history do we decide to preserve? This book, laid out in two parts with distinct voices, addresses this conundrum as it affects the Dales barn. In the first, local farmer and historian David Joy describes the development of the barn, informed by a close understanding of local farming practices.With a nod to the cruck – only two historic cruck-barns survive in the Dales – he recounts the origins and functions of the field barn, a by-product of enclosure, built from around 1750 to 1850. The majority of field barns were still in use as late as 1985. The tractor, electric milking machine and hygiene regulations gradually rendered them too inconvenient to use, and they decayed accordingly. It is interesting to read that the Dales landscape was identified as an environmentally sensitive area as early as 1986, subsidising traditional farming. The Barns and Walls conservation scheme was started in 1989. But it is agricultural support rather than conservation funding which has been critical in repairing over 450 barns, with over £3.5 million in grants. In the second part, Dales builder Andy Singleton recalls with humour his work repairing and converting barns. His down-to-earth explanation of how the Dales barn was constructed is rather seductive in its certainties. However, my faith
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