10 C O N T E X T 1 1 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 0 1888 by the distinguished architect JT Micklethwaite, and studied in recent times by Frank Pexton (to whom the article is dedicated) until his death in 2006. Enquiries were made by Pexton about all the surviving examples. Nine are described and illustrated. They are widely geographically spread, being found in Herefordshire, Wiltshire, Somerset,Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire and Pembrokeshire. Notes of others were documented in the 19th century, but the physical evidence is lost. The Transactions also have articles about medieval muniment rooms, their furniture, fittings and information retrieval systems, with particular reference to those developed by Oxford University between c1250 and the mid-17th century; and a detailed architectural, historic and socio-economic evaluation of East andWest End Terrace, a rare survival of listed back-to-back industrial mill-workers’ houses in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire. With heritage protection reform promoting ‘artistic’ in addition to archaeological, architectural and historic interest, more attention may now turn to the importance of public sculpture and statuary – its aesthetic value and its conservation. An article in the latest issue of the Journal of Architectural Conservation (Vol 16, No 1, March 2010) explaining the use of laser cleaning in the conservation of public copperalloy monuments in the UK, is timely. The use of laser cleaning has grown steadily in this country since 1994, but it is only rarely used on large-scale outdoor projects, where the application lags behind that used by museums. Helen Thompson and Martin Cooper show how the technique has been applied to a large monument to Lord Nelson and an imposing equestrian statue of King Edward VII, both in Liverpool. The before and after impacts are illustrated, partly in colour. Laser cleaning removed layers of paint and corrosive products which had proved resistant to other cleaning methods. It minimised the loss of surface material but required protective wax coatings to blend with stable sulphate corrosion which had been retained. An interesting counterpoint to current practice is provided by Ian Hume’s revisitation of the reconstruction of the columns supporting the Mausoleum at Castle Howard, which had required urgent intervention 30 years ago. The Grade I listed building was constructed between 1729 and 1743 to the design of Nicholas Hawksmoor. Hume, who was project engineer for the 1979-83 repairs, reflects on the engineering problems faced and poses the question of whether a different approach would have been taken if the work were done today. He concludes three decades on that ‘it is difficult to see where improvements to the repair processes could have been made’ and that ‘it illustrates many of the points of good conservation’. Another highly challenging structural engineering marvel is the Great Staircase at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, designed initially by Matthew Brettingham and James Paine around 1579, and completed by Robert Adam in 1765. Concern by the National Trust about the condition of this daring cantilevered stone staircase had led to restricted access to upper floor rooms. The article explains in detail the evaluation of the defects, the options to improve its robustness in use and the repairs undertaken in 2008, permitting the rooms accessed from it to be better used, and allowing the full architectural impact of the Great Stair to be appreciated without the need for unnecessary structural intervention. An article entitled ‘Heritage management and community connections – on the Rocks’ might initially lead the reader to anticipate some disaster. But the Rocks in question is a historic precinct of Sydney, Australia. The article deals with the diverse and flexible techniques used to connect with and involve residents and other stakeholders in the preparation of a heritage management plan. The Journal of Architectural Conservation’s international coverage is concluded by a paper on the conservation and conflicts in heritage management in central Asia, with particular reference to the Silk Road. Enrico Fodde explains the diverse approaches to philosophical and ethical conservation issues dealt with by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (all semi-autonomous republics of the USSR until 1991). This region may be little known to us, but a case study of the conservation issues facing the great mosque in Samarkand (one of the great examples of Timurid architecture), two other regional cases and a discussion of the disappearance of vernacular architecture give a fascinating insight into problems as far removed from our own interminably evolving heritage protection reforms as it is possible to imagine. Fodde concludes with a message of optimism engendered by ICOMOS and UNESCO activities in the region since perestroika. Turning from internationalism to localism, and an encouraging sign of local distinctiveness, the January 2010 issue of Natural Stone Specialist reports on the development of Brinscall Quarry near Chorley in Lancashire. Until recently this had been producing aggregates, but new owners intend to produce dimensioned stone blocks so that this much-admired, fine-grained gritstone can be used in masonry and paving in the north west. The quarry was opened a century ago to supply local builders, but not used for this purpose recently. Encouragingly, there are consented stone reserves for another 40 years. The company, the Armstrong Group, has also recently acquired Montcliff Quarry on the outskirts of Bolton, adding another gritstone quarry to its portfolio. This may encourage renewed use of this distinctive building material. Bob Kindred MBE
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