C O N T E X T 1 3 0 : J U LY 2 0 1 3 9 Historic Buildings (ASCHB). That ought to be a good enough reason for readers to be members of both organisations. The AMS Transactions (Vol 57, 2013) concentrates its 156 pages largely on specific buildings or building types. Subjects covered include Robert Hradsky on the Middle Temple Hall of 1562–70, with its spectacular roof and screen; Stephen Porter on the road bridge at Berwick-on-Tweed, begun in 1611 and opened in 1624; James Bettley on the complex and gripping tale of the medieval timberframedWool Hall in Lavenham, dismantled on 1912 to be carted away for re-erection elsewhere, but for the generous intervention of Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, and much overt and covert agitation by the SPAB, who ensured its return and restoration (an insight into pre-first-world-war heritage politics and social mores); and Jill Atherton, Richard K Morris and TimTatton-Brown with some observations on the medieval fabric of the Old Bishop’s Palace,Worcester. For those looking to place a building type in context, Amber Patrick draws together the results of her own study of early malt kilns from the 18th century to the second half of the 19th century by looking at 23 examples across 14 counties. This is a particularly useful guide to appreciating what elements are significant about these buildings. The latest ASCHB Transactions (Vol 35, re 2012) similarly looks in its 68 pages at individual buildings and one unusual building type. Jane Kennedy explains the vault repairs to the 15th century tomb of Sir Robert Danvers at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. Robert Thorne sets out the planning and conservation of King’s Cross and St Pancras Station between 1987 and 2012. Alec Forshaw, the former conservation officer for Islington looks at the conservation issues of the Islington (north-east) side of Kings Cross. And Colin Kerr explains the recent interior conservation and restoration of St George, Hanover Square, a model church of the Queen Anne 1711 Act, and All Saints, Margaret Street, London, an ecclesiological, William Butterfield church of 1859 (the colour photos are particularly good). It is worth drawing particular attention to two of the articles. In the first, on the unusual building type, Christopher Rayner tells of the conservation of wartime underground air raid shelters. He discusses their current and future threats, and the conservation challenges they pose. His examples include Dover, Stockport, Rochester and Brighton. The second article is William Mann’s exploration of the conservation issues surrounding the remarkable repair and reinstatement at Astley Castle,Warwickshire, for the Landmark Trust. Seriously damaged by fire in 1978 after continuous habitation for 800 years, the building demonstrates the highly successful outcome of that most challenging of approaches: inserting modern fabric sympathetically into an ancient ruined structure; finding the right ‘balance between the raw, scaleless characteristics of a typical ruin and the warm, measured qualities of a house’; and ‘reconciling localised particularities with a constant search for elemental clarity’. This project is well worth studying by anyone faced with marrying seriously damaged historic fabric with a use involving sympathetic contemporary design. The latest issue of The Historic Environment: policy and practice (Vol 4, No 1, April 2013) has several papers of particular significance to current UK practitioners. Rob Lennox looks at the background surrounding the recent reform of planning policy and particularly the political advocacy by the sector to secure sufficient recognition of heritage protection by the present government. The paper is a useful resume of the implications of the premature abolition of PPS5 and the realisation from many quarters that unless a convincing case was advanced in favour of the benefits of heritage, adoption of the contentious draft of the replacement National Planning Policy Framework would be likely to result in a serious weakening of heritage protection. The sector is not always known for its close cooperation, but the coordinated response and leading campaigning roles of the National Trust and the Heritage Alliance in the face of some ignorant and provocative statements by ministers is explained. This skirmish with government (with battles still to come?) had a relatively happy outcome. Although it will be some time before we will know if the sector’s intervention has secured an undiluted level of protection, the government has since been anxious to assure the sector that this is still the case. All of this, of course, prefaces the impact of the additional continuing reforms in the Taylor Review. Heritage protection reform is predicated on knowledge and the understanding of heritage assets that flows from accessibility to comprehensive and up-to-date historic environment records (HERs). A paper fromTim Evans asks whether inconsistencies in the methodology of recording data is creating gaps in the record, and alarming questions about the deposition of grey literature and excavation reports. The paper highlights considerable discrepancies between the three national recording systems and the alarming gaps that have emerged. Evans states that if we do not know what recording has been done, and where to see what has been found, our knowledge base has been undermined. When so much importance is now attached to the central role of HERs for heritage management, the conclusions do not seem likely to engender confidence by users, particularly when the non-statutory status and inadequate resourcing aspects are also considered. While the UK system struggles transactions volume 35 for 2012 AssociAtion for studies in the conservAtion of historic buildings aschb transactions volume 35 for 2012
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=