C O N T E X T 1 1 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 0 1 Context Editorial The preservationist instinct www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a Charity Number 1061593. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England Number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road,TunbridgeWells, Kent TN2 4QZ. Officers President Eddie Booth email [email protected] Chairman Dave Chetwyn email [email protected] Vice Chair Sheila Stones email [email protected] Secretary Richard Morrice email [email protected] Treasurer Michael Knights email [email protected] Membership Secretary Jo Evans email [email protected] Education Secretary John Preston email [email protected] Publicity Secretary Doug Black email [email protected] Law & Practice Coordinator vacant email [email protected] Director Seán O’Reilly email [email protected] Projects Officer Fiona Newton email [email protected] Consultant Consultations Coordinator James Caird email [email protected] Membership Services Officer Joanna Theobald email [email protected] Administration Officer Lydia Porter email [email protected] Committee Chairs Policy Mike Brown email [email protected] Membership & Ethics Jo Evans email [email protected] Finance & Resources Richard Morrice email [email protected] Education John Preston email [email protected] Communications & Outreach Charles Strang email [email protected] Branch Officers North Geoff UnderwoodTel 0191 433 3435 NorthWest Kate Borland Tel 0161 2344556 Yorkshire Keith Knight Tel 01904 658482 West Midlands Charles Shapcott Tel 0121 7044312 East Midlands Roy Lewis Tel 01636 653060 South Julia Foster Tel 01296 585888 SouthWest Ian LundTel 01225 477687 East Anglia Phil Godwin Tel 01263 516131 South East David Kincaid Tel 01227 862185 London David McDonald Tel 020 8881 6724 Scotland Stuart Eydmann Tel 01506 775279 Wales Nathan Blanchard Tel 01492 583443 Northern Ireland Sharon BrownTel 028 9754 3087 Republic of Ireland Cormac O’Sullivan Tel 00353 5677 62907 Business Office Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA England Tel 01747 873133 Fax 01747 871718 email [email protected] Institute ofHistoricBuildingConservation No 114 May 2010 Working with building preservation trusts Cover: A new entrance through the prison wall giving access to the 19th century Debtors Tower and prison D Wing, part of a major project by the Oxford Preservation Trust and its partners, see p37 (Photo: Oxford Castle Unlocked) What is it about historic building conservationists? Something inspires us to choose this line of work. It is not the money. Perhaps it is something deep in our genes. Scientists tell us that human instincts relate to challenges that our ancestors faced in the environments in which they evolved. The psychologist Steven Pinker has suggested that there are sets of instincts for intuitive mechanics (knowledge of the motions, forces and deformations that objects undergo); intuitive biology (understanding how plants and animals work); number; mental maps for large territories; habitat selection; and justice (sense of right and obligations). We can imagine how these instincts helped our hunter-gatherer ancestors survive, and how they may inspire the various types of built environment professionals of today. Those with highly developed instincts for mechanics or numbers are more likely to become engineers; the instincts for understanding biology find an outlet in landscape architecture; those for mental maps are expressed in architecture; and those for justice may inspire the planner’s traditional concern for supposedly rational land use. Perhaps historic building conservation provides an outlet for people with a highly developed instinct for habitat selection. In his introduction to our theme on building preservation trusts (BPTs) in this issue of Context (p11), James Moir reflects on what motivates the people whose extraordinary passion drives the BPT movement. Saving neglecting buildings, he suggests, may evoke childhood memories; inspire thought about value and meaning; and, above all, satisfy our sense of place. Our ancestors’ survival depended on understanding what sort of places would be best suited to the tribe’s survival, and how to adapt those places. The knowledge was a matter of life and death. Conditions have changed, but the passion for placemaking is still vital today. Our articles in this issue point to some very practical ways in which building preservation trusts not only preserve buildings but help to create living places. IHBC comment on PPS5 2 Briefing 5 Out of Context 6 Letters 6 The writer’s voice 7 Remembering Joe Martin 7 ICOMOS-CIVVIH conference, Valletta 8 Periodically 9 Working with building preservation trusts James Moir 11 BPTs and revolving fund activity Andrew Beckett 13 BPT activity in the East Midlands David Trevis-Smith 17 Building preservation trusts in Scotland Sarah Jenkins 20 The Little Houses Improvement Scheme Stephen Copp 23 The best of both worlds Marcus Patton 27 Heritage assets for community use Nick Falk 29 A Scottish partnership Alan Lodge 31 New life for Portaferry Nick Brown 34 Partnership at Oxford Castle Debbie Dance 37 The Vivat Trust’s special buildings Laura Norris 40 A new approach to involving volunteers Liz Bates 42 Lessons from Great Yarmouth Stephen Earl 44 Public perceptions of conservation areas JennyWhetton 46 Gardens and designed landscapes 50 Architecturally speaking 53 IHBC consultations 54 Notes from the chair 55 Director’s cut 56 Membership notes 57 Vox pop 58 Book reviews 59 Products and services 61 Advertisers index 64
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