Institute of Historic Building Conservation No 120 July 2011 Dimensions of localism
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C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 1 Cover: The government’s focus on localism raises the question: what is the appropriate scale for any particular decision or action? Our feature articles in this issue, starting on page !", discuss such matters in the context of heritage. The cover photo shows the centre of Bradford. (Photo: ©iStockphoto.com/kelvinjay) Editorial Institute ofHistoricBuildingConservation No120 July 2011 Dimensions of localism We are all localists now Every government has its slogans. Margaret Thatcher famously proclaimed in !#$% that ‘there is no such thing as society.’ John Prescott called for ‘sustainable communities’. In &""' the then home secretary David Blunkett called for ‘bottomup localism’, but it went belly-up and was quickly forgotten. Gordon Brown announced that ‘there is such a thing as society, it’s just that it is not the same as government.’ David Cameron proclaimed the Big Society, to be engendered by localism (the practice of giving priority to local action and devolving power to the lowest possible level). Amid all this sloganising, ‘sustainable’ (a word that was last used with any discernable meaning in around !##() is proving remarkably resilient. The term’s persistence is not despite its woolliness, but because of it. Using the adjective ‘sustainable’ is like decorating a noun with a smiley face. The government has decreed that there is a presumption in favour of ‘sustainable development’, by which it means a presumption in favour of any development that does not conflict with a local plan or national planning policy. There is no cause to complain about the erosion of meaning of words in political slogans. It was always wrong, for example, to expect any single word to carry the immense freight of undefined meaning that ‘sustainable’ has been supposed to carry when used by built-environment professionals. Too often we use big abstract nouns as a substitute for explaining what we mean. Such words have some use as labels, but if we want to communicate anything significant we need to explain ourselves through more words than one. As for localism, no one could object to the concept of taking decisions, and focusing action, at the most local level possible. Indeed isn’t that what many conservation professionals have been doing all the time in their work with communities? The idea had a previous political life in slogans about ‘subsidiarity’. The question is always: what is the appropriate scale for any particular decision or action? The answer is: whatever scale is appropriate to match the economic, social or environmental processes that are involved in the particular case. If we focus decisions and actions at a more local level than is necessary to have an influence on those processes, we are abdicating – or being made to abdicate – any responsibility we may have to influence the course of events. If that should happen, we would be justified in asking: to whom or what is the government determined to give free rein, and why? www.ihbc.org.uk Registered as a charity in England andWales number 1061593 and in Scotland number SC041945. Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England number 3333780. Registered Office: 3 Stafford Road,TunbridgeWells, Kent TN2 4QZ. Of!cers President Eddie Booth email [email protected] Chair Jo Evans email [email protected] Vice Chair Sheila Stones email [email protected] Secretary Richard Morrice email [email protected] Treasurer vacant email [email protected] Membership Secretary vacant 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 O!cer Fiona Newton email [email protected] Consultant Consultations Coordinator James Caird email [email protected] Membership Services O!cer Joanna Theobald email [email protected] Administration O!cer Lydia Porter email [email protected] Committee Chairs Policy Mike Brown email [email protected] Membership & Ethics (Acting) Richenda Codling email [email protected] Finance & Resources Richard Morrice email [email protected] Education John Preston email [email protected] Communications & Outreach Charles Strang email [email protected] Branch Of!cers North Geo) UnderwoodTel 0191 433 3435 NorthWest Kate Borland Tel 0778 0704726 Yorkshire Keith Knight Tel 01904 658482 West Midlands Charles Shapcott Tel 0121 7044312 East Midlands Roy Lewis Tel 01636 619335 South Julia Foster Tel 01296 585888 SouthWest JamesWebbTel 01202 732849 East Anglia Phil Godwin Tel 01263 516131 South East David Kincaid Tel 01227 862185 London David McDonald Tel 020 7361 3352 Scotland Stuart Eydmann Tel 01506 775279 Wales Nathan Blanchard Tel 01492 583443 Northern Ireland Colin Hatrick Tel 028 9064 1126 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] Briefing 2 Out of Context 4 Letters 5 Periodically 6 The writer’s voice 8 Localism, heritage and the rise of civic society Tony Burton 10 Layers of localism in Berwick- upon-Tweed Annette Reeves 12 Community management of heritage assets Hugh Rolo 15 Listing Brixton Market Rosie Shaw 18 Lobbying on the Localism Bill Henry Russell 20 What localism means for heritage Dave Chetwyn 21 Conservation in Rwanda Robin Kent 23 European heritage HerOes John Hinchliffe 27 BritishWaterways trains staff and volunteers Judy Jones 30 Access to training for construction GlennYoung 31 Architecturally speaking 32 Notes from the chair 34 IHBC notes 35 Director’s cut 36 Vox pop 37 Book reviews 39 Products and services 41 Advertisers index 44
2 C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 Briefing Context 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) 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 2011 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. Copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November.The copy deadlines in 2011 are: September, Issue "#" "$ July November, Issue "## "% September Marianne North Gallery The refurbishment of the !$$"s Marianne North Gallery at Kew has been completed, to a design by Donald Insall Associates and with funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The gallery houses the collection of botanical paintings by Marianne North. She donated the paintings, featuring likenesses of #"" plants, and the gallery in which to house them. The building was designed by James Fergusson. The project began with a conservation management plan, undertaken with the curator at Kew. This highlighted the significance of the building and its collection – one of only two public galleries in the country created by artists to house their own work. The work has included replacing the roof with new leadwork and slate, carrying out stone and brick repairs and, internally, plasterwork and joinery repairs. Apethorpe restored Guided tours of Apethorpe Hall in Northamptonshire will let visitors see the continuing restoration of the country house. Begun in the late !(th century, Apethorpe House near Oundle is one of the best surviving grand country houses. Following many years of neglect and decay, in &""' English Heritage stepped in and saved the Grade I listed building. Since then, English Heritage has completed a £' million repair of the main parts of the building. During the guided tours, the public will be able to view the latest phase of this major restoration project. The plasterwork in the State Apartments, oak panelling in the Long Gallery and ornate fireplaces have been carefully restored. A large section of the timber-framed roof has been repaired and re-roofed, using Apethorpe Hall: saved by English Heritage after years of neglect, it is now open for guided tours. The Marianne North Gallery is one of only two public galleries in the country created by artists to house their own work.
C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 3 thousands of local stone slates. In total around !(",""" man-hours of skilled labour has been used over the last few years on repair and conservation work. The team at English Heritage claims to have made some significant discoveries. Visitors will be able to see the secret passageway, uncovered during restoration work, which links King James’s state apartment to the room that was used by his favourite courtier, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Apethorpe Hall is open for guided tours on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays until +" September. Prebooking is essential: call "$%" +++ !!$+. Tours cost £%.(" per person. Building history The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education is launching a new part-time researchbased study course, a Master of Studies in Building History. Starting this October, the course is aimed at students from a wide variety of backgrounds who want to become architectural historians trained in both academic and practical skills of building analysis and assigning value and significance, and to professionals wanting to formalise or extend their acquaintance with historic buildings. The course will run over &! months, &"!!–!+, including a minimum of six months work placement in the second year and a dissertation. See www. ice.cam.ac.uk/mst-buildinghistory. Seminary plan seeks funds The Glasgow-based public arts charity NVA has prepared plans to revive a celebrated modernist building, St Peter’s Seminary, and the surrounding Kilmahew woodlands. The seminary was built in !#,, to a design by Andy MacMillan and Isi Metzstein of Gillespie, Kidd and Coia. The plan is to consolidate and partially restore the site on the banks of the Firth of Clyde and gradually bring its internal spaces back to life, reviving the !'"-acre woodlands through an artist-led programme. £!" million of funding is being sought. Some of St Peter’s interior spaces will be structurally stabilised and brought back into mixed cultural and educational use in a natural setting. There have been a number of failed attempts to find a planned solution for the former estate, many of which have proposed commercial developments. NVA’s plan to create a creative landscape within St Peter’s and Kilmahew woodlands has attracted recognition since NVA represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale’s &"!" International Architecture Exhibition. NVA presented a series of events focusing on the status and importance of St Peter’s Seminary within the history of &"th century architecture. The seminary was occupied for just !+ years before closing in !#$". It was subsequently used for five years in the !#$"s as a drug rehabilitation unit, after which the buildings fell into disrepair. The seminary was listed in !##+. The World Monuments Fund added it to its register of mostat-risk buildings in &""%. Museum of the Home The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a development grant of £(!$,("" to help the Geffrye Museum progress its plans for a development under its new title of Museum of the Home. A master plan by David Chipperfield Architects will make the museum a centre for learning and discovery about Cadw is asking the public to vote for Castell Coch as their favourite country house in the Countryfile Magazine Awards #&"".The gothic castle was designed byWilliam Burges as a second home for the third Marquess of Bute. St Peter’s seminary: occupied for just "' years.
4 C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 ‘I’M INCREDULOUS that some people think that No ' and No , Broadgate are worth preserving in their own right.They are not wonderful, they are no longer fit for purpose and even Peter Foggo, the architect who designed them, didn’t like them.’ Ken Shuttleworth, architect of the building proposed to replace part of the Broadgate development ‘NEVER DID I hear him say that. No architect would design buildings he didn’t like and put them up. My husband definitely did not hate or dislike his own buildings. Full stop. For anyone to suggest he would want them demolished is wrong.’ Lilian Foggo, widow of the architect ‘THE CITY is – and always has been – first and foremost a place of business, and it must be allowed to adapt to meet the long-term business needs of current and potential future occupiers. Broadgate helped facilitate the growth of the Square Mile into the world’s leading financial centre and, as a result of today’s decision, I have no doubt that it will play a leading role in helping the City to retain this status for many years to come.’ Stuart Fraser, the City of London Corporation’s policy chairman, quoted in the Guardian after culture secretary Jeremy Hunt refused to accept a recommendation from English Heritage that the Broadgate development should be listed. ‘THERE HAS been some suggestion that listing stunts investment or creates “streetscape museums”.This is to entirely misinterpret the purpose and effect of listing. It would have been entirely possible to consider significant alteration to the inherently flexible Broadgate Square buildings while enabling the original scheme’s intrinsic qualities to shine as an exemplar of commercial development… Broadgate Square may not be everyone’s idea of heritage, but every decade has its architectural high points, and the !#$"s are no different.’ English Heritage’s response ‘THE ONGOING vitality of the City rests on it retaining and valuing the best buildings of all periods of its construction.This is the latest in a line of recent cases where the Twentieth Century Society believes factors other than those that should be considered in the listing process have decided the fate of an important historic building.’ JonWright of the Twentieth Century Society commenting on the Broadgate decision ‘THE BASIC problem is that the heritage protection system requires resourcing that is not actually there. The system needs expert assessment, but that requires a good deal of resourcing and government has reduced it dramatically over the past ten years and, in particular, the last six months.’ Jonathan Thompson, heritage adviser to the Country Land and Business Association, talking to Planning about the Penfold Review of non-planning consents ‘PLANNING authorities in rural areas with high demand for homes may want to consider amending their local planning policies to support the change of use of farm buildings to affordable homes where these are considered inappropriate for employment use, or take the need for affordable homes into account in assessing individual applications.’ The Government’s response to the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report into farming in England’s upland areas ‘THIS IS madness! The world around us changes, things fall into disrepair or are no longer needed.We don’t have to preserve the past the way we used to, we have technology which can do it better. Why waste money and time? Flatten these unnecessary carbuncles and move on.’ ‘IF IT NEEDS work done to it, let the people who are interested in it pay for it. I don’t give a damn about the place so as long as I don’t have to pay towards it. I don’t care!’ Two online comments on the Scotsman’s website following the publication of an article reporting that some of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s best-known buildings were being allowed to slide into disrepair. not just the physical nature of home, but also the ideas, meanings and values which are expressed through home. The Geffrye explores the home from !,"" to the present day, with a focus on the living rooms of the urban middle classes in England, particularly London. A chronological sequence of period rooms show how homes have been used and furnished over the past '"" years, reflecting the changes in society and patterns of behaviour as well as style, fashion and taste. The museum is set in the !$th-century former almshouses of the Ironmongers’ Company in Shoreditch, east London. Wentworth Woodhouse Plans are being prepared to restore Wentworth Woodhouse, described by Marcus Binney as ‘unquestionably the finest Georgian house in England’. The Grade I listed house, near Rotherham, SouthYorkshire, is the largest private residence in Europe. It was built over a &( year period from !%&' for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham. The east front, at ,!(-foot long, twice as wide as Buckingham Palace, is the longest country house facade in Europe. The house, covering over &.( acres, is said to have +,( rooms. The owners are hoping to develop mixed business uses in the Grade I listed stable block and riding school, including an exhibition and conference venue. Their proposal for the mansion house is to create an hotel and spa with a publicly accessible museum in the central and grandest rooms. A survey has highlighted that extensive repairs are required to the fabric of all the listed properties. WentworthWoodhouse east front
C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 5 Letters Forgotten powers From Andy Robinson,‘retired and well out of it’, formerly conservation and design manager at Hastings Borough Council Please note the government’s recent response to a quiet littleWritten Parliamentary Question tabled by Stephen Pound MP, to which my attention has been drawn: Stephen Pound (Ealing North) To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has placed a requirement on any local planning authority to supply in default professional advice in connection with heritage advice to another local planning authority as authorised under paragraph % of schedule ' of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act !##". To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions he has used his powers under paragraph % of schedule ' of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act !##". Bob Neill (CLG minister)We have no record of any Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government ever invoking his or her powers under paragraph % of schedule ' of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act !##". It seems that, some &! years after the Act, someone has finally noticed that the secretary of state has powers to require local planning authorities to share out their professional conservation advisors. Mind you, I wonder how many IHBC members knew that this power existed. A sign of the times, I think. Local planning authorities and IHBC members should be aware of this interest, at the very least. Andy Robinson Manifestations of belief From Jonathan Duck I have been working in building conservation for !& years for various local authorities. Over this time I have come to notice various decorations, details or designs, usually inexplicable to me, adorning some of our old houses. Over the last four or five years I have begun to think more of these observations and, having been out of education for a while, have decided to undertake a PhD on the subject. Obviously splendid timing, I realise, given the economic situation (and, in my view, the horrors of the Localism Bill), but no one has ever accused me of being overly endowed with common sense. The working title of my research is: ‘The manifestation of belief in the domestic buildings of Cambridgeshire, !,(" to !#""’. My intention is to look at a range of houses from across the county, from the various centuries, which exhibit architectural or decorative elements that have religious origins, such as lancet windows, or that acknowledge belief of some sort, such as the large brick-built cruciform on the gable of an !$th century hotel in Suffolk. That belief might be in a good luck charm or in a defence against witches, or it might be in the observance of a recognised religion. Aspects for study might include the influence of the civil war, plague, witch trials, the Low Countries, the Grand Tour, the industrial revolution, the development of science (and its impact on religion, especially in Cambridge), the fens and the dissenters or the Victorian fashion for revivalist architecture which, as often as not, features religious architectural references. I would like to ask all my conservation colleagues (Scots, Northern Irish, Welsh and English) whether they know of any examples of old houses in their areas which might exhibit religious or folkloric reference. The reason that I am casting my net so wide is that my introduction will look at Great Britain as a whole, before I focus specifically on Cambridgeshire. (I will not be looking at items stored in houses to protect from witches, such as concealed garments, because my understanding is that they were not part of the original construction or decoration of these buildings – unless you know differently of course.) Any suggestions that you might have of buildings to research, books to read or other general observations on the theme of belief in domestic buildings would be gratefully received. Please contact me on joffduck@ btinternet.com or ("!&&+) $!!!+&. Jonathan Duck A carving made in the roof timbers of Kew Palace by ")th-century servants living in the attic, who thought that it would protect them from witches. (Photo: Historic Royal Palaces, Richard Lea-Hair)
6 C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 Periodically This reviewer’s last column highlighted the concerns of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings about the public expenditure cuts, although many of the more insidious cuts – including those to the local authority conservation specialists – appear to have passed by the rest of the sector unremarked. Cornerstone, the magazine of the society (Vol +&, No !, &"!!) continues to highlight some of the other effects. Among these are the implications of the Localism Bill in attempting to remove the general statutory duty to protect historic buildings (still unresolved at the time of writing despite ministerial assurances); and encouraging the unseemly haste to sell off local authority historic buildings while ignoring the recently revised English Heritage best practice guidance about disposal. The response of communities to taking on these assets and managing them better, has been decidedly mixed, especially as there is unlikely to be adequate public subsidy. Ian Lush, chief executive of the Architectural Heritage Fund, explains how the recommendations of the Quirk Review and the recent work of the Development Trusts Association’s Asset Transfer Unit may help. But if too many buildings are offloaded too quickly in too poor condition and without any form of endowment, wherever it comes from, to enable them to be properly regenerated, many of these neglected or underutilised historic buildings in public ownership may end up more not less at-risk. SPAB is also concerned about what it considers ‘disastrous’ new requirements under Regulation +' of the European Union’s Public Contracts Regulations to be introduced by English Heritage. These will compel tendering for the services of architects and surveyors under Repair Grants for Places of Worship. Grants hitherto funded equally by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund have evolved as a two-stage application process, with English Heritage awarding some &&( grants a year for high-level work for those places of worship in greatest need. This appears to have operated since inception without any noticeable level of complaint about the process. Previously only building works contracts were required to be tendered. Now professional advisors must also be appointed on a competitive basis from at least three ‘professionals capable of doing the job’. For projects with fees above £(",""", hard-pressed (frequently small) parishes and congregations must advertise such appointments prior to the tender and selection process. The society highlights the point that many architects and surveyors undertake quinquennial inspections as loss leaders, charging far less than the commercial rate in the belief that they will be awarded the subsequent grant-aided works. The society believes that enforced competitive tendering for often small grant-aided schemes is likely to result in many architects giving up most of their church work due to commercial pressures; to undermine the quinquennial inspection process; and to ‘reduce further the small, committed and loyal band of good church architects and surveyors’. The society contends that the buildings will suffer, ‘sacrificed to short-term thinking and gain’. The latest issue of the Association of Preservation Technology Bulletin, Journal of Preservation Technology (Vol '&, No !, &"!!), is stimulating and authoritative reading on a wide variety of topics. The introductory article by L Brad Shotwell, Joshua Freedland and David AWaugh looks at inexpensive devices to improve photographic recording of the surfaces of materials using inexpensive digital cameras. When these are combined with a macrotube, they can provide a supermacro capability, making it possible to take high-quality, uniformly lit images of small-scale features essential to accurately documenting surface conditions prior to selection and monitoring of clearing programmes. Ease and economy make rapid documentation possible. Some of this recording can easily be done stereoscopically. As cameras can now record sound and capture video, additional information about the materials and conditions can be documented for later transcription. The article helpfully illustrates typical equipment. It provides a materials list for the making of macrotubes and brief instructions on their relatively straightforward fabrication; advice on the selection of suitable digital cameras (usually those capable of a minimum focusing distance of three centimetres) and on the use of the combination of equipment. Recent reviews of the bulletin have drawn attention to the centre-spread ‘practice points’, dealing in particular with aspects of mortar analysis. Part + by Lorraine Schnabel examines the importance of buying the right mortar analysis services. This is not about specific service providers in North America but about the generic objectives of analysis. This can be a complex issue, as no single method of analysis is right for every situation. Schnabel emphasises that in buying such services an understanding is required of the knowledge skills and experience necessary for all the different steps in the process. This should ensure the right skill-sets are used for the project. Sometimes the requirement will be to develop mortar mixes for re-pointing and repair. In other cases it may be to clarify construction history or to identify the causes of mortar deterioration. The
C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 7 author also states that ‘unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of mortar analyses are performed only because this is required by a regulatory agency for a structure of a particular age or in a particular district, or for projects receiving certain types of grants’. Does this have a familiar ring? If so, UK practitioners should find this concise practice point an invaluable primer. For those involved with repair to stained glass, Julie L Sloan explains a low-tech, on-site method of water testing of single-layer (as opposed to plated or multi-layer) windows to help make them weather-tight in situations where protective glazing is not normally used. Although her case example is ecclesiastical (St Thomas Church, New York City), the technique could be applied equally to secular windows. The nature of the problem in the case cited, the method used for the water testing and the results are explained and illustrated with admirable clarity. The latest bulletin also contains three articles which, despite a North American setting, provide UK readers with useful perspectives to illuminate good practice here. For those dealing with earthen vernacular buildings, Annick Daneels and Luis Fernando Guerrero-Baca explain the analysis of the constituent materials of monumental ancient earthen architecture in tropical lowland Mexico. This has allowed their survival despite wet tropical conditions. The buildings clearly required careful initial construction. The most fascinating feat was the surface finish, which proved resistant to strong winds and rains and still permitted flat roofs. Archaeological evidence suggests that an organic agglutinate was applied regularly on top of the facings. Understanding of this will be crucial to the future preservation of these pre-hispanic buildings but it will be of interest to those conserving earthen construction here. An article by Beatriz del Cueto traces the development of the early uses of hydraulic mortars, cements and concrete in Puerto Rico. The author outlines the rapid introduction of concrete construction in the early decades of the &"th century, and the reasons why the local cement industry was and still is so successful locally. She contends that the basis for this is a long tradition of, and familiarity with, Spanish-based building trades dating back to the !,th century, using products similar to hydraulic mortar and reinforced cement. She concludes that, contrary to received wisdom, such technologies were not lost from the time of their invention by the Romans until reintroduced by John Smeaton in the mid !$th century, but were overlooked in the NewWorld. Lenticular-truss bridges are a particularly North American engineering phenomenon. They are characterised by the top and bottom chord of the main trusses being curved into a parabolic circular or other arc, so that the bottom chord functions as a cable and the top chord as an arch (excellent illustrations in the article by Thomas Boothby make this clear). Over ("" such wrought-iron bridges were built towards the end of the !#th century by the Connecticutbased Berlin Iron Bridge Company. Unfortunately, although the original manufacturers exhibited considerable engineering intelligence, they engaged in sharp business practices by colluding with other bidders, under-designing the structures and shaving down the materials. Today, the historic value of these structures is being increasingly recognised, not least because national standards for the evaluation of the condition of road bridges is causing concern, leading to the closure of some to traffic. Consequently an assessment of lenticular-truss bridges is being undertaken to inform their management and preservation. In some cases preservation has been by neglect. In others safety upgrades have led to wholesale structural replacement and a loss of historic interest, where the alternative would be likely to have resulted in ‘marginalisation and retirement from service’. The article offers some hope for the more careful weighting of conflicting conservation objectives in future, a ubiquitous issue in challenging economic times. In the latest (Spring &"!!) issue of C#&, the magazine of the Twentieth Century Society, its director Catherine Croft takes what she considers an infrequently afforded opportunity to reflect on the end result of a successful casework campaign with its origins stretching back to !##$. This concerns the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford, where Dutch architect Erik Van Egeraat originally proposed the total demolition of Elizabeth Scott’s !#+& building. The society thought that such a drastic solution was unnecessary to provide a decent large auditorium. It argued from the outset about what it thought should be retained (the front elevation with sculpture by Eric Kennington, front-of-house spaces and a fine staircase). This seems a prescient and pragmatic approach to the test of ‘relative significance’ enshrined in PPS(. As Croft observes, ‘we were prepared to see substantial areas of the building (including the auditorium) redeveloped, as they were clearly less significant and had been altered several times before’. In asking the rhetorical question ‘had such a strategy been helpful?’, Croft considers the answer to be a resounding ‘yes’. She quotes from the critic from the Architects’ Journal who, at the reopening, felt that the architects (Bennetts Associates) had not just retained substantial amounts of Scott’s original fabric, but had ‘ennobled’ it, creating an ‘inhabited ruin’ bearing comparison with Tate Modern and Chipperfield’s Neues Museum in Berlin. Croft is doubtful if these are the best comparators and muses on how the ‘ruin effect’ has been incorporated into the completed remodelling. In a wider context it is worth reflecting on the evident value of revisiting major interventions to historic buildings – whether initially contentious or not – once the raw emotion of the campaign about their alteration has ebbed; and on whether the concept of rebuilding ‘among the ruins’ of less significant parts of historic buildings is an acceptable starting point for substantial alterations to the fabric from a philosophical standpoint. Elsewhere in that issue Alan Powers, the society’s chairman, poses another rhetorical question: what is the Twentieth Century Society for? He gives several ‘right’ answers, while explaining that the question was posed last year as part of the consideration of the society’s image and in looking to improve the consistency of communication with the media. It was concluded that one of its strongest strap-lines was the society as ‘knowledge organisation’ – being dependent on being recognised as
8 C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 experts.While this might seem selfevident, Powers points out that over the last +& years there has been a substantial growth in the literature on architecture in Britain since !#!', but that there is still major work to be done both in information gathering and interpretation. This is a never-ending task but one that both C#& and the irregular journal Twentieth Century Architecture hope to fill. This issue highlights work by Historic Scotland on hydroelectric power stations and their place in the industrial heritage of the Highlands; the impact of changes to mail sorting and delivery on &"th-century Post Office buildings; a reprise of the social influence of housing design exemplified by the Brandon Estate tower blocks in London by the London County Council architects department by a returning visitor after an absence of nearly (" years (more mature reflections); new post-war chapels for Manchester University halls and residence; and, as a consequence of changing technology, a welcome removal by BT this summer of almost all the external telecoms equipment from the external faces of the listed BTTower. Finally, one interesting item from Natural Stone Specialist (April &"!!) highlighting the sustainable use of materials and drainage in relation to hard landscape resurfacing in a historic setting. The Base Court at Hampton Court Palace has recently been repaved for the Historic Royal Palaces using Purbeck limestone and Kentish ragstone to recreate a hard landscaping scheme originally designed by Christopher Wren, dating from !,##–!%"". Particularly noteworthy was the method of construction. All the new paving was bedded and pointed in recycled concrete and crushed limestone, reviving an all-but-forgotten historic tradition of loose-laid paving in Britain. Omission of a conventional cast concrete sub-grade base or use of new concrete for slabs or bedding mortars also meant that it was possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions significantly in the laying. In future all the material can potentially be re-used in situ when maintenance works are required. The novel use of recycled and crushed bedding and jointing materials creates a water-permeable surface, enabling the paving to act as a percolated drainage system, making the scheme in operation more sustainable. As the struggle to meet climate change obligations continues, this revival of a historic paving technique may become more widespread. Bob Kindred MBE There is nothing so dangerous as innovation. See the waves in the equinoctial storms, dashing and clashing, roaring and pouring, spattering and battering, rattling and battling against it. I would not be so presumptuous as to say, I could build any thing that would stand against them half an hour; and here this immortal old work, which God forbid the "nger of modern mason should bring into jeopardy, this immortal work has stood for centuries, and will stand for centuries more, if we let it alone. It is well: it works well: let well alone. Cupbearer, "ll. It was half rotten when I was born, and that is a conclusive reason why it should be three parts rotten when I die.’ The whole body of the High Commission roared approbation. ‘And after all,’ said Seithenyn, ‘the worst that could happen would be the over#ow of a springtide, for that was the worst that happened before the embankment was thought of; and, if the high water should come in, as it did before, the low water would go out again, as it did before. We should be no deeper in it than our ancestors were, and we could mend as easily as they could make.’ ‘The level of the sea,’ said Teithrin, ‘is materially altered.’ ‘The level of the sea!’ exclaimed Seithenyn. ‘Who ever heard of such a thing as altering the level of the sea?’ Note Shortly afterwards the sea wall collapses and destroys the kingdom. The legendary Seithenyn (who with Ceraint of Essyllwg and Gwrtheyrn Gwrthenau was one of the three immortal drunkards of the isle of Britain) was the father of St Tudno, in whose honour Llandudno, venue for the 2011 IHBC Annual School, is named. From The Misfortunes of Elphin by Thomas Love Peacock (1829) ‘Prince Seithenyn,’ said Elphin, ‘I have visited you on a subject of deep moment. Reports have been brought to me, that the embankment, which has been so long intrusted to your care, is in a state of dangerous decay.’ ‘Decay,’ said Seithenyn, ‘is one thing, and danger is another. Every thing that is old must decay. That the embankment is old, I am free to confess; that it is somewhat rotten in parts, I will not altogether deny; that it is any the worse for that, I do most sturdily gainsay. It does its business well: it works well: it keeps out the water from the land, and it lets in the wine upon the High Commission of Embankment. Cupbearer, "ll. Our ancestors were wiser than we: they built it in their wisdom; and, if we should be so rash as to try to mend it, we should only mar it.’ ‘The stonework,’ said Teithrin, ‘is sapped and mined: the piles are rotten, broken, and dislocated: the #oodgates and sluices are leaky and creaky.’ ‘That is the beauty of it,’ said Seithenyn. ‘Some parts of it are rotten, and some parts of it are sound.’ ‘It is well,’ said Elphin, ‘that some parts are sound: it were better that all were so.’ ‘So I have heard some people say before,’ said Seithenyn; ‘perverse people, blind to venerable antiquity: that very unamiable sort of people, who are in the habit of indulging their reason. But I say, the parts that are rotten give elasticity to those that are sound: they give them elasticity, elasticity, elasticity. If it were all sound, it would break by its own obstinate stiffness: the soundness is checked by the rottenness, and the stiffness is balanced by the elasticity. Thomas Love Peacock
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10 C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 ism Locali ocalism Localism L lism Localism Localism ocalism Localism Loca ism Localism Localism Localism Localism Loc alism Localism Localism TONY BURTON L calism, heritage and the rise of civic society The government is committed to a ‘power shift’ to communities. What does this mean for people who are concerned about heritage and the role of civic society? on the historic environment. How do we judge significance?Whose significance? And does local significance ever trump national designation? The course of localism may not run smoothly for heritage, but we should have confidence that people really care about their roots and the place where they live. It is important not to be too starry eyed, but if we can tap into these local passions, rich opportunities for heritage open up.We already know a passion for place is why thousands of people volunteer their time, knowledge and energy for civic societies and other community causes every week. Our challenge is to put this at the heart of localism. Civic Voice’s Love Local campaign gives a flavour of what people care about. Hundreds of people were asked to share what they love about where they live and why. What makes it attractive, enjoyable and distinctive and what makes them proud?What is the local DNA which gives each place its identity? The results suggest five main ingredients that combine to make a place to be proud of: !. Lots of open space and gardens &. Having a natural setting and views +. A friendly and spirited community '. Well-cared-for historic buildings (. A range of cultural and community activities. Yet three in every four people surveyed can identify something in their local area which they value and which they feel is at risk.There is a real sense of concern amid the civic pride. The heritage movement now needs to make its play to take advantage of localism. Success will rely on connecting communities with their heritage. The signs are positive that localismwill give new meaning and new priority to heritage but it will not come easily. In future, success will be measured more by howmuch local action is taking place than by the weight of research and expert opinion.The methodologies and techniques used will need to empower people, rather than rely on experts. The language of heritage will need to become more welcoming and engaging. There will need to be more emphasis on local as well as national values, and it will be the importance of heritage to places and people, and not just the sometimes arcane ‘significance’ of heritage designations, that will matter. There are already excellent examples of what can be achieved. Practical guidance from English Heritage on local listing, community planning and blue plaques has done much to humanise its work in ways that stimulate local action.The genius of Heritage Open Days connects over a million people to their surroundings each year, and the innovation of the voluntary heritage movement never ceases to surprise and encourage.Yet there is much more to be done. Our national story is one forged by people who care.This is a land rich in history and the signs of it are all around us. Yet some of the most important stories can not be told by reading the clues in the landscape and streets. They lie in the dry records of local authority planning committees, dog-eared newsletters of local community groups, and the rich tapestry of life recorded in local newspapers and radio. These are the stories of the communities that care. Those who stand up and campaign against damaging development, dismal architecture, unnecessary street clutter and clone-town Britain.Those who work together to bring places to life, and to research and celebrate what gives everywhere its own identity and provides our diverse communities with their roots. So much of the national good today is testimony to their determination, hard work and foresight – and they present a rich political opportunity. It is no coincidence, therefore, that in the thick of a general election campaign in April last year the one thing the three main party leaders agreed on was a warm welcome for Civic Voice as the new national charity for the civic movement. Gordon Brown spoke of promoting ‘civic health’ and David Cameron of his hope that ‘Civic Voice will play a key part in building a stronger, bigger and more responsible society, and will help put the neighbourhood back at the front of our politics’.Whatever the outcome of the election, people were beating a path to the communities’ door. This political opportunity is now being translated by the coalition government into the narrative of the Big Society and the reality of the Localism Bill.We are to see a ‘power shift’, where neighbourhoods become the building blocks of local planning and communities and parish councils are put more in the driving seat to care for local assets and take on services. There will be referenda over new development, and communities will be rewarded through new financial incentives for development that takes place in their area. What does this mean for the historic environment? Is heritage safer in communities’ hands? How should heritage professionals respond? Certainly, the changes are not without their risks. Already we have seen the sole mention of heritage in the Localism Bill become a focus of controversy. The bill initially removed the need to consider conservation areas and the setting of listed buildings when undertaking neighbourhood planning. These ‘more than local’ designations were to be subservient to the needs of local priorities. Lobbying by CivicVoice and others has helped to amend the offending clauses, but these are debates that will run and run. The tensions they expose run through myriad debates
C O N T E X T 1 2 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 1 11 Tony Burton is director of CivicVoice. Those who successfully tap into localismwill speak to people’s hearts as well as their heads. They will inspire and enthuse and measure success not just by whether people are informed but by whether they take action. Currently too much of the rich supply of historic and other information held by public and other bodies is not presented or communicated effectively. It is being used by a only small number of people and official agencies. There is limited public knowledge or understanding of the range of existing legal and other measures for communities to protect their local historic environment (ranging from tree preservation orders and local listing through to conservation areas and neighbourhood plans). Too often, when people do find out more about these measures, they are complex and hard to use.We focus too much on process and too little on possibilities.We rely too often on toolkits, websites and facilitators, and miss opportunities which help people take their own initiative. As a consequence people are either unaware or unexcited about what can be done. The experience of civic societies suggests there are three critical ingredients to success: emotion (any approach needs to tap into people’s emotional interests and be exciting and fun); self-help (individuals and groups need to be able to follow their own interests and fit their activity into busy lives without being dependent on expert support or facilitation); and activity (information, guidance, online resources and briefings are no substitute for doing, and any approach needs quickly to stimulate people into taking action and seeing outcomes). The experience also suggests that we need to start more with what people care about, and less with what tools and laws are available to help. People need first to be enthused by what they cherish. That leads to an appetite for finding out more about what they can do, and then using the legal and other tools at their disposal. Localism presents opportunities to be embraced by the heritage community. However expressed, it is self-evident that the historic environment in all its forms lies at the heart of people’s passion for their area. It gives places identity and character, and is crucial to a sense of well-being. If the heritage movement can adapt quickly to tap into these local passions more effectively, we can bring localism to life through the historic environment, raise its profile and secure a better future for our past. OPPORTUNITIES People are passionate about where they live. Communities have ideas and views about how these areas can be developed and improved. There is already a vibrant active sector of the community who are involved in protecting their local area, such as civic societies, history groups, parish councils and the Women’s Institute. Being involved in your local area brings a wide range of personal benefits, such as social connections, feeling good and improving your area. There is a wide range of existing information on how to change where you live. It just needs to be made more relevant and accessible. There is a wide variety of statutory and other means to secure greater recognition and protection. There are untapped opportunities for stakeholders with a shared goal to work together. There will be increasing interest from businesses on how to support their local area. A groundswell of action on a local level is of key interest to national opinion formers and decision makers. People’s interest in the local historic environment where they live is one of the most persuasive routes into community action and volunteering. CHALLENGES People often lack confidence in the validity of their views and ideas. People are unclear about how to make themselves heard and listened to. Too much of the rich supply of historic and other information held by public and other bodies is not being presented in ways that appeal to most people. There is limited public knowledge or understanding of the range of existing legal and other measures to protect the local historic environment, and they appear complex and are poorly communicated. Existing methods (such as Spaceshaper and Placecheck) and guidance (such as Knowing Your Place) to engage people in thinking about their surroundings are complex and frequently dependent on expert external facilitation. Active people are often time-poor. Local volunteers may be unrepresentative. Change is often slow to see, which puts people off. Voluntary groups need financial and other support, which can be hard to find. The current financial climate and reduced personal income means personal survival is more important to many than community action. The Big Society risks a backlash as public sector cuts start to bite. It can be difficult to get disparate stakeholders to talk and work together.
www.ihbc.org.ukRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=